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FALLACIES  EXPLODED  AND  FIGURES  EXPLAINED. 


"  There  is  another  mode  of  error  in  the  employment  oe  arguments  ok 
analogy,  more  propkrly  deserving  the  name  of  fallacy  ;  namely,  whew 
resemblance  in  one  point  is  inferrfd  from  resemblance  in  another  point, 
though  there  ip  not  only  no  evidence  to  connect  the  two  circum8tance8  by 
way  of  causation,  but1  the  evidence  tends  positively  to  disconnect  them. 
This  is  properly  the  FALLACY  OF  FALSE  ANALOGIES."— Mill's  "System  of 
Logic,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  366. 


BY 

BENJAMIN   SCOTT,  F.R.A.S. 
•»i 

&I)irb  drbilion. 


LONDON : 
LONGMANS,   GREEN,   AND    CO. 

1877. 


London : 
Pkinted  by  Simmons  &  Botten,  Shoe  Lane,  E.C. 


PREFACE  TO  FIRST  AND  SECOND  EDITIONS. 


The  writer  of  the  following  pages  having  recently  been 
called  to  assist  in  obtaining  a  Day  Census  of  the  Popu- 
lation of  the  City  of  London,  and  to  prepare  some 
Statistical  information  connected  with  and  growing  out 
of  that  Census,  his  attention  was  arrested  by  the  absurd 
fallaciousness  of  the  reasonings  founded  upon  the  figures 
of  the  Imperial  Census,  as  applied  to  the  exceptional 
case  of  the  City  of  London.  He  was  thus  induced  to 
treat,  statistically,  the  subject  of  the  relative  importance 
of  the  City  to  the  rest  of  the  Metropolis,  having  regard 
to  the  discussions  which  are  inevitable  in  relation  to  the 
future  of  London. 

The  views  set  forth  are  his  own,  and  not  necessarily 
those  of  any  member,  or  of  any  section  of  the  Corporation 
with  which  he  is  officially  connected  j — indeed,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Tables,  some  of  which  were  prepared  for 
the  Corporation,  no  page  of  the  work  has  been  seen  by 
any  member  of  that  body. 

It  was  not  originally  intended  to  treat  of  Crime  and 


IV  PREFACE. 

Police  ;  but  the  provocation  afforded  by  the  introduction 
of  the  letter  of  Sir  Richard  Mayne,  to  the  Select  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Local  Government 
and  Taxation — as  stated  in  Chapter  V. — and  the  printing 
of  that  letter  by  the  House  of  Commons — rendered  it 
impossible  to  avoid  reference  to  those  topics. 

The  writer  cannot  hope  that  a  work  so  full  of  figures- 
— compiled  amidst  the  incessant  distraction  of  official  en- 
gagements— should  be  perfectly  free  from  error;  but  he 
trusts  that  it  may  be  found  helpful  to  any  who  may  be 
called  to  tread  the  thorny  paths  of  Metropolitan  Statistics ; 
and  prove  an  encouragement  to  those  who — desiring  to 
bring  the  wisdom  of  the  past  to  the  aid  of  the  necessities 
of  the  present — would  create  in  London,  Municipal  Insti- 
tutions based  upon  popular  representation,  improved  by 
the  intelligence  of  modern  times  ;  as  affording  better 
security  for  efficient  Local  Administration  than  the  cen- 
tralizing government  of  despotic  States. 

London,  January,  i86j. 


PKEPACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION. 


Repeated  inquiry  for  this  work,  since  the  Second  Edition 
was  exhausted,  has  induced  the  issue  of  a  third,  which  is 
in  substance  a  reprint  of  the  earlier  editions. 

Had  the  leisure  and  strength  at  my  disposal  permitted, 
it  might  have  been  desirable  to  have  recalculated  the  whole 
of  the  figures  on  the  basis  of  the  last  Imperial  Census, 
and  to  have  brought  down  the  consideration  of  the  whole 
question  to  the  present  date.  This,  however,  was  incom- 
patible with  the  performance  of  engrossing  and  very 
responsible  official  duties.  Besides,  the  Imperial  Census 
of  1 871  having  provided  for  no  day  Census  of  the  City 
(as  had  been  suggested  in  the  earlier  editions  of  this  work), 
to  have  recalculated  the  figures  on  the  basis  of  187 1  would 
have  involved  the  taking  of  another  day  Census  at  a 
considerable  expense  to  the  Corporation.  The  only 
figures,  therefore,  appertaining  to  the  present  year  are 
those  of  the  Rateable  Values  of  the  City  and  the  various 
districts  of  the  Metropolis  (Appendices  V.  and  VI.),  and 
a  few  results,  deduced  from  the  figures  of  Appendix  V.; 
the  information  contained  in  Appendix  VI.  came  to  hand 
while  the  following  sheets  were  in  the  press — too  late  for 
anything  but  supplemental  insertion. 


VI  PREFACE. 

There  is,  however,  a  reason,  apart  from  my  convenience, 
why  the  figures  relating  to  Crime  and  Police,  as  they 
stand  in  the  earlier  editions,  should  not  be  varied  or  recast. 
The  assault,  by  the  late  Sir  Richard  Mayne,  upon  the 
City  Police,  as  it  regarded  its  cost  and  efficiency,  and  his 
absurd  and  fallacious  comparisons  between  Crime  in  the 
Citv  and  in  the  Metropolis  respectively — dignified  as 
they  had  been  by  insertion  in  a  Parliamentary  Report — 
have  not  been  repeated  since  the  appointment  of  the 
present  judicious  and  efficient  head  of  the  Metropolitan 
Police.  The  figures  relating  to  this  subject  remain,  there- 
fore, precisely  as  in  the  earlier  editions,  as  a  standing 
refutation  of  grossly  false  and  calumnious  statements, 
which  had,  most  improperly,  found  their  way  into  a  docu- 
ment printed  by  authority.  Had  these  ludicrous  statements 
been  only  approximately  correct,  the  question  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  City  would  have  been  exceedingly  simplified, 
as  that  population  must  have  long  since  disappeared  before 
the  knife  of  the  assassin,  and  the  vindication  of  the 
outraged  majesty  of  the  Law. 

But  though  the  figures  in  the  following  pages  have  not 
been  brought  down  to  the  immediate  present,  the  argument 
remains  the  same,  or  strengthened  rather  by  the  vast 
increase,  since  1866,  in  the  rateable  value  of  the  City ; 
which,  so  far  from  becoming  decayed  and  depopulated,  as 
certain  fallacy-mongers  had  predicted,  is  trying  and  testing 
to  the  utmost  the  powers  of  its  local  authorities  to  keep 
pace  with  and  provide  for  the  augmentation  of  its  trade, 
the  ever-increasing  throng  of  its  frequenters,  and  the  flow 
of  traffic  through  its  streets. 


PREFACE.  Vll 

Whether  the  Census  of  1861  or  of  1871  be  appealed 
to,  the  main  proposition  remains  unanswered  and  un- 
answerable, viz.,  that  the  nocturnal  Census — taken  for 
public  convenience  when  the  City  is  deserted — forms  no 
sufficient  measure  of  its  population  or  relative  importance, 
and  that,  consequently,  to  rest  any  argument  on  such  a 
basis  is,  and  must  be,  fallacious,  and  that  to  confer  fiscal 
or  other  representation  upon  such  data  must  produce 
inequitable  results. 

The  figures  resulting  from  the  nocturnal  Census  of 
1 86 1,  would  be  found  generally  repeated  by  those  of  the 
enumeration  of  1871,  for  no  alteration  of  the  system  took 
place  in  reference  to  the  gathering  of  that  Census.  Hence 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  facts  before  the  public. 

It  must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  enumeration  of 
trades  and  occupations  deduced  from  the  Census  returns 
in  1 86 1,  gave  inter  alia  the  following  results,  as  shown  in 
the  succeeding  pages  : — 

Only  356  Merchants  out  of  nearly  6,000,  9  Ba?ikers 
out  of  263,  and  33  Brokers  out  of  3,297  actually 
carrying  on  business  within  the  City — being  just  one  in 
one  hundred — were  credited  to  the  City.  Thus,  while 
in  a  City  whose  Custom  dues  more  than  equalled  those 
of  the  whole  Empire,  and  whose  Trading  Income  Tax 
exceeded  that  of  the  whole  of  the  remainder  of  the 
Metropolis,  there  were  found  only  356  Merchants,  9 
Bankers,  and  S3  Brokers,  there  were  found  in  the 
City,  on  the  night  of  the  Census,  44  Farmers  (being  1 
farmer  to  every  16  acres),  3  Farm  Bailiffs,  23  Gardeners, 
6  Fishermen,  and  1  Shepherd ;  placing  it,  as  viewed  in 
the  mirror  of  the  midnight  Census,  at  the  head  of  the 
agricultural  districts  of  the  Empire,  as  it  regards  faci- 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

lities  for  the  cultivation  of  its  soil.  One  apprentice 
only  figured  in  the  Census  of  the  renowned  city  of 
Whittington,  whereas  over  3,000  were  under  indenture 
at  that  date,  of  whom  148  were  actually  employed  in 
the  establishments  in  the  City  in  which  the  Census 
tables  were  printed.     {Vide,  Chapter  II.) 

The  population,  according  to  the  mode 
adopted  of  taking  the  Census  in  the  night, 
was  found  to  be  113,387 

But,  by  the  day  census,  the  residents  in  the 

day  time  were  found  to  be  283,520 

The  number  of  persons  resorting  to  the  City 
daily  in  16  hours — being  Clerks,  Clients, 
and  Customers  (not  included  in  the  above 
residents),  were  found  to  be   509,61 1 

The  total  number  of  residents  and  those  re- 
sorting to  the  City  daily,  in  a  day  of  16 
hours,  were  679,744 

The  total  number  of  ditto  in  a  day  of  24  hours, 

were 728,986 

These  figures  were  on  the  increase  in  1867,  and  must 
have  augmented  since  that  date,  as  is  shown  by  the  increas- 
ing difficulty  experienced  in  maintaining  the  uninterrupted 
flow  of  pedestrian  and  vehicular  traffic  within  the  City. 

The  reasons  above  stated  have  also  induced  the 
omission,  in  the  following  pages,  of  allusion  to  the  Bills 
introduced  into  Parliament  since  the  publication  of  the 
first  edition  of  this  work,  by  the  late  Mr.  Charles  Buxton 
and  Lord  Elcho  respectively,  in  reference  to  the  Municipal 
Government  of  the  Metropolis. 

B.  S. 

London,  March,  i8jf. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Pi 

Decadence  of  the  City  ;  Its  Merchant  Princes  myths,  p.  i' — Its 
Diminishing  and  Criminal  Population,  2 — Official  Authorities  to 
that  effect ;  Reports  of  Commissions  of  Inquiry,  3 — Press  Authority 
to  that  Effect  ;  Report  of  Sir  Richard  Mayne  to  Sir  George  Grey 
(1863),  4 — An  Apparent  Paradox ;  Increase  of  the  Rateable 
Annual  Value  of  the  City,  5 — Contrasted  Elements  of  the 
Paradox ;  Population,  Houses,  Trade,  Religion,  Education  and 
Police,  6  —  Perversity  of  the  Argument,  7  —  True  Statistics 
Vindicated  ;  The  Abuse  of  Statistics,  8 — A  Sanitary  Blunder  ; 
Alleged  Drunkenness  of  the  City,  9 — The  City  at  the  Head  of 
Everything,  Good  and  Bad ;  The  Task  Undertaken,  10— Arrange- 
ment of  Subsequent  Chapters,  11 I- 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   RELATIVE   IMPORTANCE  OF   THE  CITY  TO  THE   REST  OF  THE 
METROPOLIS — TESTED    BY    ITS    POPULATION. 

Districts  of  the  Metropolitan  Area,  12 — Their  Population  and  Rate- 
able Value,  13 — Great  Importance  of  Kensington  ;  Explosion 
of  the  Kensington  Fallacies,  15 — Sleeping  Population  of  the 
City  ;  It  is  not  Decreasing  "  Year  by  Year,"  16 — What  is 
an  Inhabitant?  Where  do  People  Live?  17 — Where  do  the 
Citizens  Live?    18 — Their    Diurnal  Oscillation,    19 — They  are 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
Rated  Occupiers  in  the  City ;  They  are  there  Taxed,  20 — 
When  Awake  they  Reside  in  the  City  ;  The  Census  Enumerates 
them  Elsewhere,  21 — The  Fallacy  of  Depopulation;  Some  of 
its  Absurd  Results  ;  Customs'  Duties  Paid  by  City  Merchants, 
22 — Deceptiveness  of  the  Census,  23 — Inferential  Criminality 
of  the  Citizens ;  Their  Rural,  Pastoral,  and  Agricultural 
Character,  24 — Analysis  of  the  Census  Population;  The  City 
Fishermen ;  The  City  Apprentice,  25— Commercial  Men  of 
the  City  found  by  Census  in  the  Metropolis,  26— City  Men 
found  in  the  Country,  27 — Commercial  Men  Sleeping  in  the 
City,  28 — Residences  of  the  Members  of  the  Corporation,  29 
— The  Brokers  of  the  City  ;  Necessity  for  a  Day  Census,  30 — 
Fallaciousness  of  a  Night  Census,  31 — Testimonies  to  that 
Effect,  32  —  Totals  of  the  City  Day  Census,  33  —  Increasing 
Traffic  in  the  City,  34 — Improved  Means  of  Transit  Necessary  ; 
The  Streets  of  the  City  not  Deserted,  35  —  Immense  Daily 
Invasion  of  the  City,  36— Decrease  of  Nocturnal  Population 
in  Westminster  and  in  Districts  instanced,  37 — Parishes  with 
Decreased  Nocturnal  Population— not  Necessarily  of  Diminished 
Importance,  38 .         .         .     12 — 38 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   RELATIVE   IMPORTANCE   OF  THE  CITY — TESTED   BY  THE  NUMBER 
AND   VALUE   OF  ITS   HOUSES. 

Assumed  Decrease  of  Inhabited  Houses,  40 — Assumed  Desolation  of 
the  City;  Measured  by  Cities,  41  —  Further  Instances  of 
Assumed  Desolation  ;  Measured  by  Parishes  and  Districts  of  the 
Metropolis,  42 — Measured  by  Boroughs  Returning  Members  to 
Parliament ;  Its  Effect  on  the  Value  of  Property  ;  Increased 
Value  of  Decreased  Number  of  Houses,  43 — A  Network  of 
Fallacies ;  Common  Measure  of  the  Value  of  a  House,  44 — 
Disparity  in  the  Value  of  Houses,  45 — Their  Relative  Value ; 
Their  Rental  Quality,  46 — Relative  Number  of  Houses  by  the 
Common  Measure  ;  Districts  in  their  Order  of  Relative  Number, 
47  —  Displacement  not  Diminution,  48  —  Improvement  not 
Destruction  ;  Great  Outlay  by  Corporation  and  Others  in  City 
Improvements,    49 — Uninhabited-House     Fallacy,    50 — Houses 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  M 

PAGE 

Occupied,  Assessed  and  Rated  deemed  Uninhabited  ;  Left  in 
Charge  of  the  Police,  51 — How  Described  by  Registrar-General, 
52— Decadence  of  the  City  purely  Imaginary,  53  .         .     39- 53 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE     RELATIVE     IMPORTANCE     OF     THE     CITY— DETERMINED     BY      ITS 

RATEABLE  VALUE  and  the  magnitude  of  its  COMMERCE 
and  TRADE. 

Increase  in  the  City's  Rateable  Value,  55  — Ratios  of  Increase  since 
1771,  56— Rateable  Vahle  resulting  from  Increased  Commerce; 
Fish,  Meat,  Poultry,  Corn  and  Coal  Markets,  57 — Customs' 
Duties  of  London,  58— In  Excess  of  those  of  all  the  rest  of  the 
Kingdom,  59 — Relative  rise  of  other  Ports,  60 — Excess  of  the 
City's  Profits  from  Trade  as  compared  with  the  rest  of  the 
Metropolis,  61 — Tonnage  of  Shipping,  62 — Comparative  Ton- 
nage of  Ports  and  superiority  of  London,  63 — Recapitulation, 
64— The  City  "  Stands  Alone,"  65 54—65 

CHAPTER  V. 

CRIME    IN  THE    CITY  AND  METROPOLIS — COST  AND  EFFICIENCY  OF  THE 

CITY  and  METROPOLITAN  police  forces. 

Religious  and  Educational  advantages  in  the  City ;  Their  Statistics, 
67 — Alleged  extreme  Criminality  in  the  City  ;  Sir  Richard 
Mayne's  Statistics,  68 — Sir  Richard  Mayne's  Letter ;  Its  absurd 
Allegations,  69 — Mr.  Edwin  Chadwick  ;  He  Vouches  to  a  Select 
Committee  for  Sir  Richard's  Statistics,  70 — His  knowledge 
upon  Police  Matters,  71 — The  Letter  Suppressed  in  the  Home 
Office,  72 — Omitted  Paragraphs  of  the  Letter,  73 — Making  "the 
Truth  Known,"  74 — Cost  of  the  Police  per  man,  75— Sir 
Richard's  Reduction  of  his  "Total  Cost,"  76— By  Certain  Speci- 
fied Deductions,  77 — These  Deductions  Illusory  ;  Numerical 
Strength  and  Cost  of  Metropolitan  Police,  79 — Cost  of  City 
Police— its  "Total  Cost,"  without  Reduction,  80— The  Cost- 
per- Population  Fallacy,  81  —  How  the  City  Police  are 
Employed,  82  —  The  Cost-per- House  Fallacy,  83—  Official 
Divarication,  84 — Police  Rates  in  the  City  ;  Singular  Omission 
from  "Judicial  Statistics,"  85— Police  Efficiency  ;  Its  Real 
Test  of  Value,  86 — Crimes  in  the  City  and   Metropolis,    87 — 


Xll  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
Statistical  Inaccuracies,  88— Criminality  tested  by  Population, 
89 — Do  the  Non- Residents  and  Frequenters  commit  no  Crimes  ? 
90 — Absurdity  of  such  a  Position  ;  Three-fourths  of  Crime  in  the 
City  Committed  by  Non- Residents,  91 — Ratio  of  Crime  to  Houses  ; 
Relative  Criminality  of  the  City  and  Metropolis,  92 — Ratio  of 
Houses  to  Crime  at  the  "  Derby,"  93 — Ratio  of  Crimes  to  Houses 
by  their  Common  Measure,  94 — Apprehensions  tested  by  their 
Results,  95 — Admissions  by  Sir  Richard  Mayne,  96 — Fallacious 
Test  of  Efficiency,  97 — The  Chief  Commissioner's  Statistics 
Corrected,  98 — The  "  Graver  Offences,"  99— Contrast  in  the  City 
and  Metropolis,  100 — Sir  Richard  ignores  Murders  and  adds 
Pilfering  to  the  Graver  Crimes,  101 — Analysis  of  all  the  Graver 
Crimes,  102 — Statistics  of  Murder  and  Self-Murder,  Serious  Dis- 
crepancies respecting  Crinie  of  Murder,  103—  Coroners'  Returns 
contrasted  with  those  of  the  Police,  104 — Strange  Returns  in 
"Judicial  Statistics,"  105 — Extraneous  Influences  upon  Suicide, 
106— The  Crimes-to-House  Fallacy,  107 — Alleged  Criminality  of 
City,  108 — Relative  Number  of  Public  Houses,  109 — Thieves  in 
Embryo,  1 10 — Their  Training  Ground  ;  Incitements  to  Crime  in 
City  and  Metropolis,  1 1 1 — Needed  Suppression  of  the  Incentives 
to  Crime,  112— Percentage  of  Crimes  in  the  City  and  Metro- 
polis, 113 — Enlargement  of  the  Scope  of  Enquiry,  H4^Table  of 
Comparative  Efficiency  of  Police,  115— Relative  Percentage 
of  Convictions,  116 — Improvement  under  Colonel  Fraser,  117 — 
Suppressed  Paragraph,  1 1 8— Perverted  Statistics,  119 — An 
Interpolation  in  "Judicial  Statistics,"  120 — A  Fog  of  Figures, 
121 — Statistics  by  Estimate,  122— Correction  of  Accounts,  123 — 
Complaints  respecting  "  Judicial  Statistics  "  — -  Manchester  ; 
Opinion  of  the  Recorder  of  Birmingham,  124 — Crime  in  Bristol 
and  Bath,  125 — Recapitulation — Crime  and  Police — City 
and  Metropolis,  126 — 129 — Statement  submitted  to  Select  Com- 
mittee respecting  City  Police  entirely  Unfounded,  130   .         .  66 — 130 


CHAPTER  VI. 
the   FISCAL  REPRESENTATION   of  the   city,    etc.,   at    the 

METROPOLITAN    BOARD    OF    WORKS. 

Defects  of  Metropolitan  Board  ;  Number  of  its  Members  Inadequate  ; 
Expenditure  rapidly  Increasing,  132— Increasing  Taxing  Powers 


TABLE    OF    COl  XIII 

of    the    Board  ;    Defective    Representation    of    Local    Ink  a 
133  —  Enormous    Fiscal    Power   of   each   Mem!  ;  urate 

Cities  and  Boroughs  Outweighed  by  each  such  Member,  134 
— Local  Interests  Unrepresented ;  Opinion  of  Corporation 
Commissioners  (1854)  on  Local  Representation,  135 — Sir  John 
Thwaites — Representation  Inequitable,  136 — Table  of  Relative 
Fiscal  Power  of  each  Member,  137 — Illustrations  of  Inequality, 
138 — City  not  Adequately  Represented,  139 — The  same  of  Mary- 
lebone,  Pancras  and  Paddington,  140— Equitable  Representation 
Expedient,  141— The  Board  must  be  Reconstituted  or  Replaced, 
H2 — Tabular  Scheme  for  more  Equitable  Representation,  143 — 
Change  Imperatively  Demanded,  144 — Districts  in  the  Order  of 
their  Claims,  145 — Principles  laid  down  for  the  Reconstruction 
of  Board,  146 — The  Board  an  Experiment,  147  .         .    131 — 147 

CHAPTER  VII. 
METROPOLITAN  MUNICIPALITIES— the  various  suggestions 

IN    REFERENCE   THERETO — AND   THE    FUTURE   OF   THE   METROPOLIS. 

The  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  a  Compromise,  148 -Government 
Antagonism  to  and  Jealousy  of  Municipal  Institutions,  149 — 
Attacks  upon  Popular  Rights ;  Prevention  of  Erection  of  Street 
Bridges  to  Secure  Safe  Crossing,  150 — Government  Hindrance  of 
the  Thames  Embankment,  151— Embankment  Designed  by 
Corporation  in  1842 — Delay  of  a  Quarter  of  a  Century,  152 — 
The  Government  creates  the  Delay,  153 — The  Sewage  of  the 
City  Completed,  154 — Opposition  of  Government  to  Increased 
Sanitary  Powers  in  1848,  155 — City  obtains  Powers  and  puts 
them  in  force  —  Mr.  Simon  —  Dr.  Letheby,  156  —  Gratifying 
Sanitary  Results,  157 — Diminished  Mortality  ;  Cholera  Death- 
rate  Reduced,  158 — The  Force  of  Cholera  Abated  ;  Contrast  of 
London  with  other  Cities  and  Towns,  159 — General  Death-rate 
Improved  ;  Advantages  of  Municipal  Institutions,  160 — Sanitary 
Condition  of  City  Improved,  161 — Improvement  the  Result  of 
Increased  Sanitary  Activity,  162 — Police — City  Suggests  the 
Police  System  of  the  Metropolis,  163 — Report  of  Select  Com- 
mittee in  1828  to  that  effect;  Sir  Robert  Peel's  Testimony  to 
that  effect,  164 — The  Honourable  Fox  Maule's  and  Sir  George 
Grey's  Testimonies,  165 — The  Future  of  the  Metropolis,  166 — 
Government  Hostility  to  City's  Rights  and   Immunities  in  all 


XIV  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
Ages,  167 — The  Metropolis  the  Brain  of  the  Empire,  and  worthy 
of  Representation,  168 — Disarray  and  Disorganization  of  the 
Metropolis,  169 — Serious  Police  Developments  in  the  last  Thirty 
Years,  170 — Remedies  for  the  Rearrangement  of  the  Metropolis 
Suggested,  171— The  Parisian  Model,  172— The  "Adelaide" 
Model,  brought  from  the  Antipodes,  173— Sir  William  Fraser's 
Plan,  174— Corporation  Inquiry  Commissioners,  1854,  175 — The 
Commission  manifests  Caution  and  shirks  the  Question,  176 — 
A  Commissioner's  Private  Opinion,  177 — Mr.  Mill's  Proposed 
Bill,  178 — Details  of  the  Bill,  179— Proposed  Divisions  for  the 
Metropolis  into  Ten  Municipalities,  181,  182 — Particulars  of 
Sub-division  of  Metropolis  and  Outline  of  Clauses  in  the  Bill, 
183 — 185 — Principle  of  Bill  Unobjectionable,  186 — Its  Omissions 
and  Defects,  187 — The  Great  Difficulty — How  is  London  to  be 
United  so  that  it  shall  work  Harmoniously?  188 — Can  it  be  by 
Federation?  189 — Or  by  Aggregation  of  London?  190 — Princi- 
ples of  Organization  shadowed  forth,  191 — The  City  would  take 
the  Lead,  192 148—192 


TABLES  ON  FOLDING  SHEETS. 

Districts  and  Parishes  of  the  Metropolis,  their  Sleeping  Popula- 
tions in  1 86 1  ;  the  number  of  their  Inhabited  Houses  ;  their 
Rateable  Values  in  1866 ;  and  the  Values  per  head  and  per 
house  in  each  District Facing  p.  13 

The  Number  and  Tonnage  of  Vessels  entered  and  cleared  at  each 
of  the  Ports  of  England  and  Wales,  in  the  Coasting,  Colonial 
and  Foreign  Trades,  in  the  year  1865     ....   Facing  p.  62 

Summary  of  Crimes  of  every  description  in  the  eight  years  from 
1858  to  1865,  comparing  the  same  in  the  Metropolitan  and  City 
Police  Districts,  compiled  from  the  volumes  of  "Judicial 
Statistics  "  for  those  years Facing  p.  98 

Table  of  Disreputable'  and  Dangerous  Elements  in  the  Metro- 
politan Police  District  and  in  the  City  of  London,  for  the  eight 
years  1858 — 65 .   Facing  p.  in 

Tabular  Abstract  of  Indictable  Crimes  in  the  eight  years  1858 — 65, 
shewing  the  relative  proportion  of  the  Police  Districts  to 'their 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  XV 

respective  Populations  ;  the  number  of  Offenders  in  each  District 
yearly  ;  and  the  General  and  Annual  Excess  of  Offences  above 
the  proportionate  number Facing  p.  1 1 3 


APPENDICES. 

I. — Report   to   Court   of  Common   Council,    1842,    on   Survey  and 

Embankment  of  the  River  Thames 193 — 195 

II. — Appendix    and    Tables    to     Letter    of    Sir     Richard     Mayne, 

1863 196 — 203 

III. — Comparative  Statement  of  Indictable  Crimes  in  the  Metro- 
politan and  City  Police  Districts  for  the  eight  years  1858 — 65, 
Compiled  from  "Judicial  Statistics." 

IV. — Comparative  Statement  of  Offences  Determined  Summarily 
in  the  Metropolitan  Police  District  and  in  the  City  of  London, 
1858 — 65,  Compiled  from  "Judicial  Statistics." 

V. — The  Gross  and  Rateable  Values  of  the  several  Parishes  and 
Unions  in  the  Metropolis ;  as  shown  by  the  Supplemental  Valuation 
Lists  sent  to  the  Clerk  to  the  Manngers  of  the  Metropolitan  Asylums 
District ;  which  will  come  into  Force  on  the  6th  day  of  April,  1877. 

VI. — A  Table  of  Districts  and  Parishes  of  the  Metropolis, 
with  their  Rateable  Values,  in  1876-7;  extracted  from 
return  of  Mr.  Arthur  Gunn,  Accountant  to  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works,  in  reference  to  the  sums  required  by  that  Board 
for  the  year  1877. 


A  STATISTICAL  VINDICATION 


OF   THE 


CITY    OF    LONDON. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


"  /^\H  what  a  goodly  outside  falsehood  hath  !"  So  saith 
V-^  Antonio  in  the  "  Merchant  of  Venice,"  and  he  might 
have  applied  the  aphorism  to  certain  merchants  of  this  our 
London  city,  who  have  vaunted,  or  applauded  while  others 
vaunted,  their  wrealth  and  respectability,  the  grasp  of  their 
enterprise,  the  extent  of  their  commerce,  and  the  bona  fides 
of  their  mercantile  transactions.  We  have  heard,  forsooth,  of 
a  city  "  whose  merchants  are  princes,"  whose  ships  cover  every 
sea,  whose  trade  crowds  every  shore,  whose  loans  have  brought 
to  a  successful  termination  every  war  in  which  the  nation  has 
engaged,  and  whose  open-handed  charity  embraces  the 
calamities  of  either  hemisphere. 

It  appears,  however,  that  this  is  empty  declamation — mere 
delusive  boasting;  for  although  it  may  have  been  so  in  the 
distant   past,   it   no   longer  applies   to   the  City  of   London. 


2  ALLEGED  DECADENCE  OF  THE  CITY  : 

Statistics  have  shewn  up  the  cheat ;  the  hollow  fallaciousness 
of  the  claim  is  proved  by  figures,  which  may  be  relied  upon,  for 
they  have  been  said  to  be  less  delusive  than  facts.  The  City 
of  London  is  passing  away,  its  streets  are  deserted,  its  houses 
diminishing  in  number,  and  not  only  so,  but,  of  those  which  re- 
main, the  number  uninhabited  is  ever  on  the  increase;  its  popu- 
lation also  is  diminishing  in  a  ratio  which  will  leave  it  a  desert 
early  in  the  succeeding  century — if  not  sooner.  And  what 
shall  we  say  of  the  character  of  its  population — its  merchants, 
bankers  and  traders?  Unless  (which  we  cannot  believe) 
figures  greatly  mislead,  they  have  fallen  from  their  high 
moral  estate  to  the  level  of  the  most  criminal  of  our  popula- 
tion. No  longer  the  souls  of  commercial  honour,  the  syno- 
nyms of  well-to-do  respectability  and  lavish  charity,  we  find 
them  at  the  bar  of  our  police  courts  and  of  the  Old  Bailey, 
and  that,  again  and  again,  until  the  whole  of  them,  their 
clerks  and  servants,  must  have  been,  on  the  average,  con- 
victed upon  indictment  or  summarily,  at  least  three  times 
in  the  course  of  their  natural  lives  ! 

But  seriously ;  has  it  come  to  this  ?  It  has,  indeed.  Every- 
body says  it ;  and  is  it  not  in  print  ?  It  must  therefore  be 
true.  The  Registrar-General  says  it,  or  is  understood  to  have 
said  it.  A  Royal  Commission  said  it  in  1837.  Another 
Royal  Commission  repeats  it  in  1854.  A  Select  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  presided  over  by  the  Honourable 
Member  for  the  Tower  Hamlets,  takes  up  the  tale,  and 
should  not  a  Select  Committee  know  ?  Sir  Richard  Mayne 
tells  Sir  George  Grey  so,  in  a  return  made  by  the  former  to 
the  latter,  and  surely  Sir  Richard  ought  to  know  !  Moreover, 
Mr.  Edwin  Chadwick  tells  the  Select  Committee  aforesaid 
that  Sir  Richard  Mayne's  statistics   are   "  reliable,"  and  the 


OFFICIAL  AUTHORITIES   TO   THAT   EFFECT.  3 

Select  Committee,  upon  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Edwin 
Chadwick,  introduce  a  document  into  their  report  to  the 
House  of  Commons  confirmatory  of  his  accuracy.* 


*  The  following  assertions,  on  authority,  in  relation  to  the  population, 
number  of  houses,  state  of  crime,  etc.,  are  adduced  as  a  sample  of  much 
more  of  the  same  sort  which  could  be  quoted  : — 

"City  of  London:  population,  122,395;  houses,  17,315.  The  Muni- 
cipal City  of  London  contains  rather  a  less  population  and  a  smaller 
number  of  houses  than  is  shewn  by  the  above  account.  We  believe  that, 
after  making  all  necessary  deductions,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  limits 
of  the  City  of  London  embrace  less  than  a  ninth  of  the  population  of 
what  may  be  considered,  in  a  general  sense,  the  Town  of  London." — 
Second  Report  0/ Commissioners  on  Municipal  Corporations,  1837,  p.  ii. 

"  It  appears  that  the  area  of  the  City  Proper  is  723  acres ;  that  it 
contained  14,693  inhabited  houses  in  1 85 1  ;  that  its  population  was 
128,833  m  1 80 1,  and  129,128  in  1851.  The  relation,  therefore,  of  the 
City  of  London  Proper  to  the  entire  Metropolis,  measured  by  these  facts, 
stands  thus : — 

Metropolis,  population  in  1801,     958,863  ;  City,  128,833  ; 
„  1851,2,362,236;  City,  129,128. 

It  will  be  observed  that,  whereas  the  population  of  the  entire  Metropolis 
has  more  than  doubled  in  the  last  fifty  years,  the  population  of  the  City 
of  London  has  remained  nearly  stationary.  The  City  which  lies  at  the 
centre  [of  the  Metropolis]  forms,  in  successive , years,  a  constantly  smaller 
and  smaller  portion  of  the  entire  Metropolis,  as  measured  by  its  population. 
Thus,  in  1801,  the  population  of  the  City  was  about  a  seventh  part  of  the 
population  of  the  Metropolis;  whereas,  in  185 1,  it  was  only  an  eighteenth 
part."  —  Report  of  Commissioners  of  Inquiry  into  the  Corporation  of 
London,  1854,  pp.  xii.,  xiii. 

"  The  City  of  London,  consisting  of  99  parishes,  containing  702  acres, 
13,260  houses,  assessed  at  ^1,279,887,  and  a  population  of  111,764 
persons." — Third  Report  of  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
on  Metropolitan  Local  Taxation,  1861,  p.  vi. 

"  City  of  London  :  population,  computed  1866,  104,908."— Appendix, 
No.  8,  of  First  Report  of  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on 
Metropolitan  Local  Government  and  Taxation,  1866. 

"The  area  of  the  City  is  little  more  than   one  square  mile;   the 


4  AUTHORITIES   TO    THAT    EFFECT. 

Moreover,  we  read  in  certain  popular  and  well-informed 
periodicals  that  it  is  as  stated;*  while  sundry  reputable 
journals  have  taken  up  the  same  parable,  and  have  edified 
their  readers  with  the  truths  which  we  are  enunciating. 

There  are,  certainly,  a  few  facts  and  figures  (fallacious, 
doubtless)  which  at  first  sight  would  appear  to  tell  upon  the 

population,  111,784  persons  ;  and  the  number  of  houses,  inhabited  and 
uninhabited,  1,479"  (?  misprint  for  14,794). — Sir  Richard  Mayne,  in 
Report  to  Sir  Geo.  Grey,  dated  June  I,  1863,  Appendix,  No.  7,  to  Second 
Report  of  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Metropolitan 
Local  Government  and  Taxation,  1866. 

"  There  is  a  constant  decrease  of  population  and  houses  in  the  City." — 
Sir  Richard  Mayne,  as  above. 

"Crimes  in  the  City  are  upwards  of  156  per  cent,  higher  than  in  the 
Metropolitan  District." — Sir  Richard  Mayne,  as  above. 

"The  precise  number  of  criminals  committed  for  trial  in  the  year 
[1861]  was,  in  the  City,  321  ;  Metropolitan  District,  2,997.  Comparing 
the  ratio  of  those  figures  to  the  respective  populations  of  each  district, 
it  is  found  that  such  crimes  [i.e.,  of  a  graver  class]  are,  in  the  City,  three; 
in  the  Metropolitan  District,  one.'" — Sir  Richard  Mayne,  as  above. 

"It  is  thus  shewn  that  the  crimes  of  a  serious  character,  both  those 
against  persons  and  houses,  as  well  as  crimes  of  every  description,  are, 
relatively  to  population  and  houses,  much  higher  in  the  City  than  in  the 
Metropolitan  District."— Sir  Richard  Mayne,  as  above. 

"There  was  a  very  decided  statement  made  by  Sir  Richard  Mayne 
which  exhibited  statistics  upon  the  subject  [City  Police],  and  I  know 
that,  if  Sir  Richard  Mayne  gives  statistics,  I  can  rely  upon  them."  "  Now 
I  know  that  crime  is  greater  and  detection  less  frequent  there  [the  City] 
than  in  other  parts  of  the  Metropolis."  "  It  [crime]  is  greater  in  propor- 
tion to  the  population  and  property.  I  can  give  you  a  statistical  return 
proving  that  result. " — Evidence  of  Mr.  Edwin  Chadwick  before  the  Select 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Metropolitan  Government  and 
Taxation.     Second  Report.      1866.     Answers  :  6,596,  6,541,  and  6,542. 

*  "  The  inhabitants  of  the  City  Proper  are  year  by  year  decreasing. 
In  1851,  for  instance,  there  were  129,128  inhabitants  residing  within  its 
boundaries  ;  but  this  number  had  declined  in  1861  to  113,387  ;  and  pro- 
bably in  1 87 1  the  population  of  the  most  renowned  commercial  City  in 
the  world  will  not  exceed  100,000,  or  less  than  the  number  of  people 
living  in  Kensington." — Once  a  Week,  September,  1866. 


AN    APPARENT   PARADOX.  5 

other  side,  and  which  it  is  fair  to  state  in  reference  to  this 
matter.  It  is  said,  for  instance,  that  the  once  famous  and 
now  deserted  and  degraded  City  of  which  we  are  speaking 
has  within  its  limits  a  larger  number  of  Churches,  Chapels, 
and  Ministers  of  Religion  than  any  similar  area ;  that  it  has 
more  children  under  education,  in  proportion  to  the  population, 
than  are  found  elsewhere  ;  that  it  conducts  a  larger  commerce 
than  any  other  known  emporium  in  the  world  j  and  that  this 
can  be  proved  by  figures  (fallacious,  doubtless),  for  that  there 
are  paid  within  its  walls  more  Customs'  duties  than  are  levied, 
in  the  aggregate,  elsewhere  in  the  empire ;  that  its  Trading 
profits,  under  Schedule  D,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  the  Ship- 
ping frequenting  its  Port,  place  it  in  the  very  highest  Com- 
mercial position  j  that  its  merchants  and  others  (deceivers  or 
self-deceived)  rent  offices  at  unheard  of  and  exorbitant  rates, 
so  that,  actually,  ground-rents  have,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  risen  in  many  instances  above  the  level  of  their  pre- 
vious rack-rents,  and  that  no  less  a  sum  than  ^699,080  has 
been  added  to  the  rateable  annual  value  of  the  City  within 
the  past  year.*  It  is  stated,  moreover,  that  the  Police  force 
of  the  City  has  been  augmented  until  it  numbers,  now,  649 
men  to  the  square  mile. 

Here  are,  certainly,  a  few  apparent  contradictions,  and  the 
whole  statement  seems  paradoxical.  Who  shall  discover  a 
way  through  this  labyrinth,  and  find  a  clue  out  of  this 
bewilderment  ? 

If  facts  and  figures,  well  vouched  in  the  bluest  of  blue- 
books,  are  worth  a  farthing,  we  must  accept  it  as  a  fact  that 
London  City  has,  in  American  phraseology,  "gone  up."  We 
are  looking  for  the  Fenians,  but  we  miscalculate  the  probable 

*  Increased  since  1866  by  a  further  sum  of  ,£941,446  per  annum. 


6        CONTRASTED  ELEMENTS  OF  THE  PARADOX. 

event ;  it  is  the  predicted  New  Zealander  who  is  due,  and  if 
we  are  to  pin  our  faith  upon  reports  "issued  by  authority," 
we  may  expect  his  first  appearance  shortly  on  the  stage  of 
the  remaining  abutment  of  London  Bridge. 

Let  us,  however,  availing  ourselves  of  the  brief  interval 
which  precedes  his  arrival,  look  into  this  question ;  and  it  may 
be  well  to  set  in  juxta-position  the  apparently  contradictory 
elements  of  this  problem. 

It  is  asserted  on  the  authority  of  conflicting  statistics — 

i.  That,  in  the  City,  trade  and  But  i.  That  the  population  is 

commerce  are  flourishing  "year  by  year    decreas- 

beyond   all   former    pre-  ing." 
cedent. 

2.  That  street  traffic  is   con-  2.  That   the    houses    rapidly 

stantly  on  the  increase.  diminish  in  number. 

3.  That  rents   are   rising  be-     3.  That  "uninhabited"  houses 

yond  all   former  experi-  greatly  increase, 

ence. 

4.  That  the  rateable  value  of    4.  That,   consequently,   trade 

the  City   is   greatly  aug-  must  be    declining    and 

menting.  the  City  decaying. 

5.  That  churches,  chapels  and     5.  That   crime   is   more    rife 

schools  abound;  and  that  than    elsewhere — indeed, 

there     are    more    police  to   such   an   extent,  that 

to  a  given  area  than  else-  the   whole   population  is 

where  in  the  Kingdom.  criminally  tainted. 

The  obvious  conclusion  from  which  is — that  trade  and  com- 
merce, prosperity  and  wealth,  accompanied  by  the  advantages 
of  religious  instruction  and  educational  culture,  with  the  pro- 
tection of  a  numerous  and  costly  Police  force,  tend  directly 
to  the  promotion  of  depopulation,  decay  (material  and 
moral),   deterioration  and  crime.     We  may  advance  a  step 


PERVERSITY   OF   THE   ARGUMENT.  7 

further  in  our  induction,  and  we  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that 
by  closing  churches  and  chapels,  dismissing  the  clergy  and 
ministers  of  religion,  shutting  up  the  schools,  driving  away 
capital,  trade  and  commerce,  and  disbanding  our  police,  we 
shall  promote  the  social,  moral  and  material  interests  of  our 
urban  populations,  increasing  both  their  number  and  their 
well-being. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  trifling  amount  of  predilection,  and 
it  may  be  of  prejudice,  to  overcome  before  accepting  such 
conclusions ;  but  let  us  not  be  unreasonable.  Having  been 
mistaken  already  upon  many  points  of  science,  history,  and 
philosophy,  we  may  be  wrong  here.  We  confess  certainly  to 
a  leaning,  to  some  extent,  in  the  direction  of  the  ancient  con- 
ventional belief  that  London's  streets — the  City's,  at  all  events 
— are  auriferous,  that  her  commerce  is  ubiquitous  and  remu- 
nerative, and  that  her  merchants,  as  a  rule,  are  wealthy  and 
respectable ;  and  awaiting  conviction  which  shall  compel  us  to 
adopt  the  contrary  view,  we  will  abide  by  the  old  faith,  for 

"  Until  we  know  this  sure  uncertainty, 
We'll  entertain  the  favoured fallacy  ;" 

holding  it  against  all  comers — Government  Commissioners, 
Home  Secretaries,  Registrars-General,  Select  Committees, 
selected  witnesses,  and  Commissioners  of  Police — to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

It  is  doubtless  political  heresy  to  call  in  question  aught 
that  is  printed  between  blue  covers ;  but  what  are  we  to  do 
when  blue-books  contradict  one  another,  and  the  statistical 
trumpets  give  an  uncertain  sound  ? 

We  are  inclined  to  suspect  that  this  subject  has  been  treated 


• 


8  TRUE   STATISTICS   VINDICATED. 

superficially,  perhaps  intentionally  so  j  at  all  events  there 
would  appear  to  be  no  remedy  but  to  plunge  into  an  ocean  of 
statistics  to  bring  up,  perchance,  facts  of  value  which  are  now 
out  of  sight ;  for 

"  Errors  like  straws  upon  the  surface  flow, 

He  who  would  search  for  pearls  must  dive  below." 

We  have  no  quarrel  with  Statistics  properly  understood 
and  correctly  applied.  On  the  contrary,  we  desire  to  do 
homage  to  a  branch  of  science  which  is  conferring  many 
obligations  in  various  walks  of  social  life  ;  and  we  believe  that 
we  cannot  more  effectually  serve  the  cause  of  statistical 
science  than  by  pointing  out  the  cruel  treatment  it  has  sus- 
tained at  the  hands  of  the  empirical. 

The  science,  rightly  used,  demands  that  an  intelligent 
appreciation  of  all  the  surrounding  conditions  shall  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  figures  which  are  employed.  An 
illustration  or  two  will  explain  and  enforce  this  view. 

Some  years  since,  a  lecturer  on  "Vital  Statistics"  put 
forth  the  startling  announcement  that  two  parishes  in  London, 
immediately  contiguous — St.  George's,  Hanover  Square,  and 
St.  Giles's — occupied,  for  some  occult  hygienic  reason,  the 
most  opposite  positions  as  it  regarded  the  disease  of  con- 
sumption. St.  George's  was  most  unfavourable  to  its  production, 
while  St.  Giles's  was  exceedingly  prolific  of  the  destroyer. 
All  this  was  made  plain  to  demonstration  by  reference  to  the 
registers  of  burial  of  the  two  parishes.  The  author  of  this 
notable  discovery  should  have  pushed  his  inquiries  further ; 
he  would  have  discovered  that  Torquay,  Hastings,  and  the 
Isle  of  Wight  were  the  most  consumptive  districts  in  England. 
As   a    superficial    matter-of-fact    Statistician,    he    had    never 


INSTANCES   OF   ABUSE   OF   STATISTICS.  9 

reasoned  upon,  or  rather  from,  the  figures,  but  had  blindly 
accepted  their  teaching.  Had  he  visited  the  two  parishes 
in  question,  he  would  have  learned  that  St.  George's  being 
aristocratically  populated,  sent  all  its  patients  to  die  in  a 
purer  air  and  a  warmer  climate;  whilst  St.  Giles's  being 
peopled  by  a  class  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  social  scale,  left 
its  consumptive  victims  to  find  their  record  in  the  local  tables 
of  the  Registrar-General. 

Another  instance  may  be  instructive.  A  near  relative  of 
the  writer,  residing  in  an  insalubrious  district,  lost  one  of  his 
children,  and  otherwise  so  suffered  from  fever  in  his  family 
that  he  parted  with  his  property  at  a  sacrifice,  and  sought  a 
more  healthy  locality.  Judge  of  his  astonishment  to  find  that 
the  parish  he  had  left  occupied  the  highest  place  in  the  sanitary 
tables  of  the  District,  as  it  regarded  health  and  longevity  ! 
Being  scientifically  disposed,  he  set  himself  to  unravel  this 
mystery ;  when  he  discovered  that  an  almshouse  appropriated 
to  persons  of  extremely  advanced  age,  had  so  influenced  the 
record  of  the  average  duration  of  life,  as  to  set  up  this  local 
"  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing,"  amongst  the  most  innocent  and 
salubrious  localities  of  the  Empire. 

Similar  use,  or  shall  we  say  abuse,  of  Statistics  has  been 
extensively  resorted  to  as  it  regards  the  City  of  London. 
Attention  was  first  directed  to  the  subject  by  an  assertion 
made  in  a  provincial  town,  that  the  City  of  London  was, 
unquestionably,  the  most  drunken  place  in  the  Kingdom. 
Having  frequented  the  City  for  a  life-time,  and  know- 
ing it  to  be  a  place  for  business,  and  not  for  drinking,  we 
ventured  to  question  the  truth  of  the  assertion,  but  were 
speedily  drenched  by  a  cold  shower  of  Statistics  ;  and 
although  not  convinced,  we  were  obliged  to  capitulate.     Upon 


IO  THE   TASK   UNDERTAKEN. 

reflection,  we  saw  that  the- fallacy  lay  in  attributing  the  consump- 
tion of  drink  by  over  700,000  people,  frequenters  of  the  City, 
to  100,000  registered  residents,  thus  making  the  latter  seven-fold 
drunkards.  Pursuing  the  inquiry,  we  found  that  the  City,  tried 
by  the  same  fallacious  test,  was  the  richest,  and  the  most  pau- 
perized— the  most  religious  and  moral,  whilst  the  most  criminal 
— the  best  watched,  whilst  the  least  cared  for  j  indeed,  that  the 
City  of  London  occupied  the  unenviable  position  of  being  at 
the  head  of  everything,  whether  good,  bad,  or  indifferent !  So 
long  as  this  amusing  abuse  of  Statistics  was  confined  to  the 
platforms  of  Literary  Institutes  and  Provincial  temperance 
meetings,  little  harm  was  done;  but  when  public  men  and 
official  authorities  took  up  the  same  parable  and  ventilated 
it  at  the  public  expense,  it  was  high  time  that  some  one  ex- 
ploded the  fallacy,  and  unclothed  the  imposture. 

This  then  be  our  task ; — to  bring,  if  possible,  this  question 
of  the  relative  importance,  population,  commerce,  trade,  traffic, 
condition  and  character  of  the  City  of  London,  out  of  the  mist 
of  uncertainty  and  detraction  in  which  it  would  appear  to 
have  been  enveloped. 

We  propose  to  consider  the  subject,  statistically,  under 
the  following  divisions  : — 

Chap.  II.  The  relative  importance  of  the  City  to  the  rest 
of  the  Metropolis — tested  by  its  population. 

Chap.  III.  Its  relative  importance,  determined  by  the 
number  and  value  of  its  houses,  inhabited  and  unin- 
habited. 

Chap.  IV.  Its  relative  importance  Rateably,  and  as  re 
spects  its  Trade  and  Commerce. 


ARRANGEMENT   OF   THE   SUBJECT.  II 

Chap.  V.  Crime  in  the  City  and  Metropolis;  the  cost 
and  efficiency  of  the  City  and  Metropolitan  Police 
forces. 

Chap.  VI.  The  Fiscal  representation  of  the  City  and  the 
other  districts  at  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works. 

Chap.  VII.  The  various  suggestions  in  reference  to 
Metropolitan  Municipalities,  and  the  future  of  the 
Metropolis. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  RELATIVE  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  CITY   TO   THE   REST   OF  THE 
METROPOLIS TESTED    BY    ITS    POPULATION. 

THE  relative  importance  of  the  City  must  be  determined  by 
ascertaining,  as  nearly  as  is  practicable,  its  population, 
the  number  and  value  of  its  houses,  its  rateable  value,  and  the 
amount  and  importance  of  its  trade  and  commerce.  We  shall 
treat  of  these  subjects  separately  under  their  respective  heads. 
The  moral  character  of  the  population  does  not  concern  us 
here  j  for  rogues  and  their  haunts  are  not  distinguished  from 
honest  men  and  their  homes  in  taking  a  census  ;  nor  are  they 
relatively  weighed  in  the  balances  of  respectability  in  confer- 
ring representation.  Even  assuming  that  the  City  population  is 
as  criminal  as  is  represented,  we  must  nevertheless  take  stock 
of  it  in  estimating  mere  numbers  and  values,  leaving  the  sub- 
ject of  crime  for  future  consideration. 

What  is  the  City  population?  Is  it  decreasing?  and 
what  is  it  relatively  to  the  whole  Metropolis  ? 

According  to  the  Registrar-General's  census  of  i#6i,  the 
population  of  all  London  within  his  registration  district,  and 
including  the  City  of  London,  amounted  to  2,803,989  souls. 


DISTRICTS    OF   THE    METROPOLITAN    AREA.  1 3 

By  the  same  authority  the  City  of  London  and  Liberties, 
consisting  of  ninety  parishes  in  the  centre  of  the  Metropolis, 
and  governed  by  a  Municipal  Corporation,  had  a  population  of 
113.387-* 

It  will  be  very  convenient  to  set  out  here  a  table  of  the 
divisions  of  the  Metropolis,  the  amount  of  their  populations, 
and  the  number  of  houses,  as  given  by  the  census  of  1861  ; 
also  the  rateable  values  of  the  several  districts,  according  to  a 
return  recently  issued  by  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works. 
We  have  added  columns  to  show  the  fiscal  quality  of  the 
respective  districts — giving  the  district  value  per  head  and 
the  district  value  per  house  in  each  district.  [See  Table 
annexed.] 

Having  set  out  the  figures  which  must,  for  the  present  at 
least,  serve  for  data,  we  perceive  that  the  Metropolitan  area 
of  representation  at  the  Board  of  Works  comprises  the  City 
of  London  and  thirty-eight  other  districts. 

The  census  returns  give  the  population  of  the  whole  Metro- 
polis at  2,803,989.  Of  this  population,  St.  Pancras  constitutes 
7  per  cent. ;  Lambeth,  Marylebone  and  Islington  absorb, 
each  of  them,  5^  per  cent.  ;  while  the  City  of  London,  accord- 
ing to  the  census,  figures  only  for  4  per  cent. — being  a  half 
per  cent,  lower  than  Shoreditch. 

Some  centuries  since,  London  was  the  first  city  of  Britain 
and  of  the  world.  Behold  it  now,  in  the  atlas  of  the 
Registrar-General,  taking  rank  below  Shoreditch  as  a  twenty- 


*  Including  certain  Liberties  and  Inns  of  Court  watched'  by  the  City 
police,  the  district  being  identical  with  the  three  Poor- Law  Unions  of  the 
City  and  of  East  and  West  London.  Since  the  publication  of  the  Second 
Edition  of  this  Work,  the  three  Unions  have  been  united  in  one  Union 
for  the  whole  City. 


14  ASSUMED    IMPORTANCE   OF   KENSINGTON. 

fifth  portion  of  the  Metropolis  !  "  To  what  base  uses  may 
we  not  return ! "  To  what  depth  of  urban  degradation  may 
we  not  descend — when  the  London  of  to-day  is  but  a  twenty- 
fifth  portion  of  the  London  of  yesterday ! 

But  this  is  not  all,  nor  is  it  the  worst.  A  writer  in 
the  popular  periodical,  already  referred  to,  following  too 
blindly  and  implicitly  the  Registrar-General's  figures,  informs 
us  that  things  are  getting  worse  and  worse ;  that  London  City 
is  becoming  "fine  by  degrees  and  beautifully  less."  He  tells 
us  that  "  the  inhabitants  of  the  City  proper  are  year  by  year 
decreasing.  In  1851,  for  instance,  there  were  129,128  inha- 
bitants residing  within  its  boundaries ;  but  this  number  had 
declined,  in  1861,  to  113,387,  and,  probably  in  187 1,  the 
population  of  the  most  renowned  commercial  City  in  the 
world  will  not  exceed  100,000,  or  less  than  the  number  of 
people  living  in  Kensington."  He  adds,  somewhat  incon- 
sistently, "  the  army  of  people,  principally  males,  that  moves 
on  the  City  every  morning  is,  perhaps,  unparalleled  in  number 
by  any  human  tide  that  has  ever  moved  diurnally  on  any 
city  in  any  age  of  the  world." 

The  writer  of  this  paragraph  justifies  his  lamentation  over 
the  decrease  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  City  proper  by  the 
official  statistics  of  the  census;  but  in  his  forecast  of  the 
census  of  1871,  and  his  calculation  that  the  inhabitants  of  our 
City  may,  five  years  hence,  number  less  than  Kensington, 
he  has  omitted  to  notice  the  accomplishment  of  his  prophecy 
some  five  years  before  its  publication;  for  in  1861  London 
City  figures  for  but  61  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Kensington — 113,387  against  185,950! 

We  can  realize  this  picture  of  a  decaying  city ;  its  deca- 
dence the  consequence  of  an  ever  decreasing  population- — a 


AN    ANALYSIS    OF    KENSINGTON.  1 5 

decrease  in  the  short  space  of  20  years  (1851 — 1871)  of  more 
than  20  per  cent.  !  Nor  is  it  very  difficult  to  work  out  the  rule- 
of-three  solution  that,  at  the  same  ratio  of  decrease — namely, 
one  per  cent,  per  annum — we  shall  see  the  City  stranded,  in  or 
about  a.d.  197 1,  on  the  treacherous  Goodwin  of  a  population  of 
one  /    What  a  dream  of  desolation  for  London  City  ! 

There  is,  however,  something  to  be  said  in  explanation  of 
this  alleged  decadence  of  the  City  of  London ;  and  we  shall 
shew  that  terms  have,  by  the  unreflecting,  been  confounded 
with  facts.     The  fallacies  here  are  chiefly  three  : — 

(1.)  The  term  Kensifigton  does  not  mean  Kensington — 
but  something  else. 

(2.)  There  is  no  "  decrease "  of  population  "  year  by 
year,"  nor  is  it  at  the  rate  of  1  per  cent,  per  annum — but 
something  else. 

(3.)  The  term  "inhabitants"  of  the  City  does  not  mean 
"  inhabitants  " — but  something  else. 

Fallacy  1.  Kensington  is  not  here  intended,  as  might  by 
the  uninitiated  be  supposed,  to  mean  the  pleasant  semi-rural 
parish  of  that  name,  but  a  district  which  has  been  favoured, 
for  what  reason  it  concerns  us  not  to  inquire,  by  having  its 
importance  and  dignity  exaggerated  by  the  addition  of  the 
three  large  and  populous  parishes  of  Paddington,  Hammer- 
smith and  Fulham,  with  their  several  populations  amounting 
to  no  less  than  115,842  persons. 

By  this  means  Kensington  having  been  magnified  accord- 
ing to  the  formula — 

Kensington,    +     Brompton    (70,108)  +     Padding- 
ton    (75,784)     +     Hammersmith     (24,519)     + 
Fulham  (15,539)  =  Kensington  =  185,950! 
— the  inhabitants  of  Kensington  are  thus  found  to  be,  relatively 


i6 


SLEEPING   POPULATION    OF   THE   CITY. 


to  those  of  the  City  of  London,  as  185,950  are  to  113,387, 
shewing  the  relative  superiority  of  Kensington  ! — Q.E.D. 

The  fact,  divested  of  statistical  fallaciousness,  is,  that 
the  population  reported  as  sleeping  in  the  City  (which  is  not 
a  mere  dormitory)  was  found  on  the  night  of  the  census  to 
be  less  than  the  population  sleeping  in  the  four  large  suburban 
parishes  of  Paddington,  Kensington,  Fulham  and  Hammer- 
smith, united. 

Fallacy  2.  The  "  decrease "  of  the  sleeping  population  of 
the  City  is  not  "  year  by  year"  even  according  to  the  census 
tables  ;  nor  is  it  proceeding  at  the  rate  alleged — one  per  cent, 
per  annum.  The  population  returns  for  the  City  of  London, 
as  officially  taken  at  the  various  decennial  periods  of  the 
present  century,  are  as  follows  : — 


Sleeping 
Population. 

Increase. 

Decrease. 

Ratio  of 
Increase 
per  cent. 

Ratio  of 
Decrease 
per  cent. 

Census  of  1811  gives 

121,909 

1821     „ 

125,434 

3.525 

2-89 

1831     „ 

123,683 

1,751 

i"39 

1841     „ 

129,251 

5.568 

4*5 

1851     „ 

129,171 

80 

•006 

1861     ,, 

"3.387 

15,784 

I2'22 

These  figures  shew  that  there  has  been  no  law  of  "  year  by 
year  decrease  "  prevailing,  as  has  been  assumed.  The  decrease 
between  182 1  and  1831  was  at  the  rate  of  1*39  per  cent,  but 
that  ratio  had  been  more  than  counteracted  by  a  previous 
increase  between   181 1  and   182 1  of  2*89  per  cent.      Again, 


WHAT    IS    AN    INHABITANT?  1 7 

between  1841  and  1861  there  was  a  total  decrease  of  12*22 
per  cent.,  but  this  had  been  moderated  by  an  increase  between 
1 83 1  and  1 84 1  of  4*5  per  cent.  The  total  net  decrease  in  the 
number  of  the  sleeping  population  between  181 1  and  1861  is 
8,522  persons  in  the  half  century — being  at  the  rate  of  6*99  (say 
7)  per  cent,  in  50  years.  Correcting  the  asserted  diminution 
of  1  per  cent,  per  annum,  which  would  have  reduced  the 
population  by  exactly  half  in  50  years =60, 95 4  persons,  we 
find  that  the  decrease  is  not  quite  0*14  per  cent,  per  annum,  or 
7  per  cent,  in  50  years =8,5  2  2  persons — a  ratio  of  decrease 
which  will  postpone  for  many  centuries  the  anticipated  de- 
population of  the  City  of  London,  as  it  regards  its  sleeping 
population. 

It  is  possible  that  the  widening  of  streets  and  consequent 
displacement  of  buildings  may  further  diminish  the  sleeping 
population  j  and  it  is  also  quite  possible  that  the  enormous  rise 
in  the  value  of  house  property  within  the  City  may  lead  to 
the  appropriation  of  the  upper  parts  of  warehouses,  etc.,  as 
residences  for  clerks,  porters,  and  others — in  which  case  the 
sleeping  population  will  certainly  increase.  But  it  is  quite 
immaterial  to  the  question  of  the  relative  importance  of  the 
City  whether  there  is  an  increase  or  a  decrease  in  this  figure. 

Having  shewn  the  fallaciousness  of  the  allegations  that 
the  City  is  less  populous  than  Kensington,  and  that  its 
population  is  "year  by  year  decreasing,"  we  proceed  to 
explode — 

Fallacy  3.  The  term  "inhabitant"  used  in  the  census  not 
meaning  "inhabitant'''  in  its  ordinary  acceptation. 

What  is  population  ?     Who   are   inhabitants  ?     Where  do 

people  live?     The  changes   may   be  rung  upon  these   terms 

to   any   tune   that   may  best   harmonize   with   the    views    of 

2 


1 8  WHERE    DO    THE    CITIZENS    LIVE? 

fallacy-mongers.  People  may  be  truly  said  to  live  where,  by 
their  active  avocations,  they  obtain  the  means  by  which  they 
subsist.  Says  Shylock,  and  is  he  not  right  ?  "  You  take  my 
life,  when  you  do  take  the  means  whereby  I  live."  Charles 
Lamb  says  somewhere,  referring  to  his  desk  at  the  India 
House,  "  I  derive  life  from  this  dead  board."  Do  the  com- 
mercial inhabitants  of  Kensington  really  live  in  Kensington  ? 
Where  do  people  live  ?  If  it  were  asked,  "  where  do  people 
snore  ? "  then  the  correct  answer  would  certainly  be,  "  where 
they  sleep." 

But  that  is  not  the  question  for  the  solution  of  which  the 
1,837  pages  of  statistics,  which  make  up  the  Census  return  for 
1 86 1,  were  laboriously  compiled.  Census  population  of  Ken- 
sington District,  185,950.  Has  it  that  number  of  inhabitants? 
707  Merchants,  47  Bankers,  228  Stock  and  Colonial  Brokers, 
49  Shipowners  and  Brokers,  100  Accountants,  and  761  Mer- 
cantile Clerks  are  included  in  the  Kensington  population.  Let 
us  accept  this  total  of  1,892  inhabitants  as  a  sample  and  test  of 
the  value  of  the  return.  The  banks  of  the  bankers,  the  Stock 
Exchange  of  the  stock-brokers,  the  offices  of  the  merchants 
and  accountants,  and  the  Mincing  Lane  and  Commercial  sale- 
rooms of  the  Colonial  brokers,  are  four  miles  from  Kensington. 

Daily,  and  immediately  after  breakfast,  every  one  of  these 
1,892  gentlemen  leave  their  homes  for  their  respective  places 
of  business  within  the  City  of  London,  to  house,  and  feed, 
and  clothe  their  families — to  earn  commercial  reputation,  and 
to  amass  wealth — to  put  forth  their  energies,  to  tax  their 
brains,  and  to  devote  themselves  wholly  to  the  real  and  exclu- 
sive business  of  their  lives — that,  at  the  close  of  the  day,  they 
may  retrace  their  four  miles  of  way,  to  refresh  themselves,  and 
to  sleep.     Do  these  men  live  in  Kensington  ?     Their  thoughts, 


THEIR    DIURNAL   OSCILLATION.  1 9 

hopes,  cares,  and  anxieties   are  concentrated  in   the  City  of 
London.     Hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  best  brains  of  the 
Metropolis  wend  their  way  every   morning  from  each  of  the 
38  non-municipal  districts  towards  the  City  proper,  to  devote 
themselves  to  the  chosen  business   of  their  lives  during  the 
whole  business  portion  of  the  day,  and  then — when  the  doors 
of  the    Bank  of  England  are  shut,  and  the  Banking-houses 
have  suspended  payment  until  the  morrow,  when  the  Royal 
Exchange   and   Custom   House   are   closed,  when  the  Stock 
Exchange  has  impartially  ejected  its  Bulls  and  its  Bears,  and 
Lloyd's  has  made  holiday — then  and  therefore,  these  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  the  mercantile  men  of  the  commercial  em- 
porium of  the  world,  return  to  the  homes  of  their  families  in  all 
directions  of  the  compass,    to  refresh  themselves,  "  to  sleep, 
perchance    to    dream,"    until    the    hour    shall    arrive   when 
they  must  resume  the  active  and  energetic  business  of  their 
lives  in  the  City  of  London.     Do  these  gentlemen,  enumerated 
as  in  Kensington,  live  in  Kensington  or  in  London  proper  ? 
It  may  appear  a  trivial  question.     It  does  not  simply  refer  to 
the  1,892,  but  to  the  200,000  to  300,000  male  adults,  similarly 
living  all  day  in  the  City  but  sleeping  in  one  of  that  City's 
38    suburban   districts,    or   in    the    regions    beyond.      Those 
districts   are  but  off-shoots   from   the   parent-stem — places  of 
refuge  for  a  commercial  population  which  cannot  find  con- 
venient space  for  their  families  within  the  restricted  area  of 
the  Municipal  City. 

Population  has  swarmed  upon  and  settled  in  and  around  the 
old  Capital,  because  of  the  great  and  multifarious  advantages  to 
be  thence  derived.  "  The  army  of  people  moving  on  the  City 
every  morning,"  belo?igs  to  the  City.  Those  composing  it  do  not 
make  their  diurnal  approach  as  mere  visitors,  for  mere  amuse- 


20  THEY   ARE    RATED    OCCUPIERS    IN   THE    CITY. 

ment,  as  the  few  hundreds  who  daily  go  to  Kensington  to 
inspect  second-hand  models  or  third-rate  pictures.  A  very- 
large  proportion  of  this  "  army  "  are  rated  occupiers  of  houses 
or  tenements  within  the  City,  and  pay  enormous  rents,  and 
very  heavy  rates  and  taxes  too — certainly  not  because  they 
sleep  in  Kensington,  but,  because  they  belong,  fiscally  at  any 
rate,  to  the  locality  in  which  their  business  premises  are 
situate. 

It  is  doubtless  most  convenient,  in  order  to  the  number- 
ing of  the  people  of  the  United  Kingdom,  that  the  decennial 
census  should  be  taken  at  midnight  But  the  midnight  census, 
having  served  for  that  purpose,  should  not  be  permitted  to 
restrict  or  qualify  the  operations  of  the  functionaries  of  the 
State,  of  the  Municipality,  or  of  those  who  are  authorized  to 
put  their  hands  in  the  pockets  of  the  people ;  nor  is  it  right  or 
reasonable  that  advantage  should  be  taken  of  so  immaterial 
or  accidental  a  circumstance,  as  the  locality  of  a  person's  bed- 
room to  impeach  his  Municipal  privilege,  or  to  deny  or 
question  the  just  rights  of  his  Municipality. 

If  the  census  were  to  be  taken  at  noon,  instead  of  at  mid- 
night, the  decadence  of  the  City  of  London  would  be  difficult  to 
make  out.  Indeed,  every  frequenter  of  the  City  knows  that 
there  are  no  signs  of  decay. 

So,  if  the  census  were  taken  in  October,  instead  of  in  April, 
the  return  for  the  Metropolis  would  ignore  the  existence  of  the 
aristocratic  classes  of  the  community  altogether ;  St.  George's 
Hanover  Square  and  Belgravia  would  then  appear  depopu- 
lated, or  would  be  peopled  almost  exclusively  by  charwomen. 
The  Houses  of  Peers  and  of  the  Commons  would  be  represented 
by  house-keepers,  and  the  gate-keeper  at  Buckingham  Palace 


WHEN    AWAKE,    THEY    RESIDE    IN    THE   CITY.  2  1 

would  be  the  only  representative  of  Royalty  in  town.  By  the 
same  process,  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  could 
be  shewn  to  have  fallen  into  decay,  by  taking  the  census  during 
vacation. 

Do  the  landed  gentry  and  aristocracy — do  Queen,  Lords 
and  Commons — their  families,  dependants  and  domestics, 
reside  in  London?  From  February,  till  the  close  of  July, 
Yes  j  from  August  till  February,  No  !  In  the  decennial 
census  they  might,  with  truth,  be  represented  as  residing  in 
the  rural  districts  in  which  their  ancestral  mansions  are 
situate  ;  but  by  the  accidental  gathering  of  the  census  in  the 
spring  they  are  credited  to  the  western  Metropolis  and  other 
suburban  districts.  Let  us  suppose  that,  for  some  sufficient 
reason,  Parliament  should  direct  the  next  census  to  be  taken 
in  the  autumn  ;  what  a  lamentation  would  be  heard  from  our 
matter-of-fact  statisticians  about  the  decadence  of  western 
London,  the  decrease  "year  by  year"  of  the  flower  of  its 
population,  and  the  gloomy  prospects  of  the  west-end  of  the 
Metropolis  !  This  is  but  a  parallel  case  to  that  of  the  City  of 
London.  For  a  sufficient  reason,  which  no  one  disputes  or 
denies,  the  census  is  taken  when  men  are  in  their  beds,  and 
not  in  their  counting-houses  j  and  the  question  arises,  whether 
the  mercantile,  banking,  and  commercial  classes  of  the  City 
reside  in  the  City?  During  the  hours  of  activity,  Yes; 
during  the  night,  No !  In  the  decennial  census  they  with 
their  families,  are  credited  to  the  suburbs,  where  they  sleep, 
and  not  to  the  City,  in  which  they  work  daily  with  their 
clerks.  This  is  inevitable,  according  to  the  present  mode  of 
taking  the  census.  But  then  it  does  not  follow,  as  the  matter- 
of-fact  statisticians  will  have  it,  that  all  the  merchants  and 
bankers  are  dead,  their  City  depopulated,  their  offices  "  unin- 


2  2  THE    FALLACY    OF    DEPOPULATION. 

habited  "  and  their  trade  and  commerce  a  myth.  They  are  as 
much  in  existence  and  entitled  to  be  taken  into  account,  as  the 
Queen,  aristocracy  and  gentry  would  have  to  be  considered, 
were  the  census  taken  at  a  period  which  would  seem  to  exclude 
them  as  residents  of  the  Metropolis. 

The  two  cases  put  are  precisely  parallel  in  principle, 
though  they  are  treated  differently  in  practice ;  hence  the 
fallacy  which  constantly  represents  the  City  as  becoming  de- 
populated, when  every  one  connected  with  it  knows  that  it  is 
ever  and  largely  on  the  increase  ;  hence  the  injustice  of  treat- 
ing it  as  relatively  unimportant,  and  unworthy  of  fair  con- 
sideration, in  relation  to  the  wider  areas  of  the  Metropolis. 

Before  proceeding  further  in  the  elucidation  of  this  part 
of  the  subject,  let  us  look  at  a  few  absurd  results,  at  which  we 
necessarily  arrive  if  we  adhere  to  the  night  census  as  a  test  of 
the  relative  importance  of  the  City. 

It  will  not  be  questioned  that,  with  the  exception  of  some 
half-dozen  merchants  whose  offices  are  situate  without  the 
City's  boundary,  in  Finsbury  Square,  all  the  foreign  merchants 
carry  on  their  business  within  the  City.  They  all  meet  at  the 
Royal  Exchange,  the  Baltic,  or  the  North  and  South  American 
Coffee-houses,  and  they  all  pay  their  Customs'  duties  at  the 
Custom  House,  in  the  City  of  London.  Now,  how  many 
of  these  "  Merchants  "  do  we  find  in  the  City  according  to  the 
"  Census  of  Occupations "  of  the  Registrar-General  ?  Just 
356! 

Now,  the  merchants  of  the  City  paid,  in  the  last  nine 
years,  Customs'  duties  on  their  merchandise  amounting  to 
^108,134,119,  being  an  average  of  ^"12,014,902  per  annum. 
So  that,  if  we  are  to  accept  the  census  figures  as  fairly  repre- 


THE   CENSUS    DECEPTIVE.  23 

senting  the  quality  of  the  City  population,  we  arrive  at  the 
startling  conclusion  that  each  merchant,  in  the  City,  pays 
Government  ,£33,749  annually  as  his  average  share  of  Customs' 
duties ;  and  yet,  as  we  shall  find  presently,  this  mercantile 
population  which  pays  more  than  half  of  the  Customs'  duties 
of  the  whole  Empire,  is  statistically  shewn  to  be  the  most 
criminal  in  the  Kingdom. 

Again  ;  here  is  another  absurd  result.  The  "  Bankers  " 
of  the  City  are  returned  in  the  occupation  census  at 
nine  persons !  The  City  bankers  possess  a  Clearing-house 
which  does  not  include  the  West-end  bankers.  It  is 
difficult,  outside  the  select  banking  circle,  to  obtain  the 
amount  of  the  yearly  exchanges  of  this  Clearing-house. 
But,  having  procured  the  clearing  figures  of  several  of  the 
banks,  we  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  the  annual  clear- 
ing of  the  City  banks  must  be  six  thousand  millions; 
and  this  does  not  represent  the  business  transacted  over  the 
counter.  We  thus  arrive  at  the  conclusion,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  midnight  census,  that  nine  bankers,  or,  say, 
three  firms  exchange  two  thousand  millions,  per  firm,  per 
annum. 

Again ;  it  appears  by  the  Stock  Exchange  Official  List  that 
there  are  1,234  Stock  and  Share-brokers  and  jobbers  in  the 
City ;  but  the  official  Census  informs  us  that  but  ten  of 
these  carry  on  the  enormous  business  of  all  dealings  in 
^800,000,000  of  the  National  Debt,  and  in  the  much  larger 
amount  of  Railway,  Foreign,  Colonial  and  other  stocks,  shares, 
loans  and  securities.  Of  Underwriters  there  appear  to  be  none 
in  the  City ;  but  39  shipping  brokers  and  agents  carry  on  the 
whole  shipping  business  of  the  Port  of  London,  of  a  tonnage 
equal  to  10,460,000  tons  annually. 


24  INFERENTIAL   CRIMINALITY   OF   THE   CITIZENS. 

Again ;  there  are  in  the  City  of  London,  according  to  the 
census  of  1861,  113,387  persons;  of  these,  by  the  same  tables 
33,213  are  children,  who  may  be  assumed  to  be  generally  free 
from  crime.  This  leaves  80,174  persons  as  the  adult  residents 
of  the  City.  The  "  Judicial  Statistics  "  of  the  Home  Secretary 
shew  that,  in  1864,  there  were  proceeded  against,  summarily  or 
on  indictment,  in  the  City  of  London,  9,641  persons.  Now, 
if  we  assume  that  the  ages  of  the  whole  of  the  adult  inha- 
bitants range  from  15  years  upwards,  it  results,  from  a  calcu- 
lation based  on  the  known  laws  of  mortality,  that  each  person 
in  the  City,  on  an  average,  has  been  convicted  three  times 
during  the  term  of  his  or  her  natural  life — an  amount  of 
crime  which  has  never  been  assumed  to  exist  in  any  other 
civilized  community.  We  present  this  calculation  and  result, 
which  have  been  tested  by  an  eminent  Actuary,  to  the 
matter-of-fact  statisticians  as  a  "  statistic "  quite  as  reliable 
as  those  which  have  preceded  it.     Of  this  more  anon. 

But,  it  will  be  inquired — if  the  population  of  the  City  is 
neither  mercantile  nor  commercial,  of  what  does  it  consist? 
It  would  be  exceedingly  difficult  to  define  the  character  of  its 
motley  population  on  a  census  night.  It  would  seem,  from 
the  following  figures,  to  be  rather  rural,  pastoral  and  agri- 
cultural than  urban  and  commercial.  Indeed,  it  would  appear 
from  the  census  returns,  that  the  City  of  London  occupies  a 
very  high — nay,  the  highest  place — as  it  regards  the  efficient 
cultivation  of  its  soil — it  having  a  greater  number  of  farmers, 
in  proportion  to  its  acreage,  than  any  other  agricultural  dis- 
trict in  Great  Britain  !  On  the  night  of  the  Census,  there 
were,  it  is  true,  in  the  City  of  London,  9  bankers,  10  stock- 
brokers, and  a  few  merchants ;  but  on  the  other  hand  there 
were  found  44  farmers — being  at  the  rate  of  one  farmer  to  every 


STRANGE   DEDUCTIONS    FROM   CENSUS.  2$ 

sixteen  acres.     There  were  also  3  farm-bailiffs,  23  gardeners, 

6  fishermen  and  1  gentle  shepherd !     One  apprentice  is  also 

recorded — the  last  of  his  race — "  crying  in   the  wilderness  " 

of  desolate  London,  over  the  departed  trading  glories  of  this 

ancient  City  of  Whittington.* 

The  case  is  clear,  and  is  confirmatory  of  what  we  shall 

adduce  presently  from  the  same   statistical  tables — that  over 

2,000  houses  are  "  uninhabited  "  in  the  City,  representing  an 

amount   of  desolation  exceeding  that  which  would  result  if 

the   whole   cathedral   city   of   Durham,    or   county   towns   of 

Guildford,  or   Buckingham,  or   Dorchester  were   divested  of 

every    inhabitant.      The    besom    of    destruction    is    indeed 

passing   over    this   once    populous   but    now  decaying   City. 

Like  Nineveh  and  the  proud  city  of  Babylon,  she  is,  to  a  great 

extent,  evidently,  laid  in  heaps,  and  given  over  to  shepherds 

and  the  pasturing  of  flocks  ;  or,  may  we  not  find  her  condition 

precisely  reflected  in  the  desolation  of  Maritime  Tyre — 

"  How  hath  decay 
Within  her  palaces  a  despot  been  ! 
Ruin  and  Silence  in  her  courts  have  met, 
And  on  her  city  walls  the  fisher  spreads  his  net  !  " 

Are  not  these  fair  deductions  from  the  City  midnight 
"  census  returns  "of  1861  ? 

Let  us  next  ascertain — if  the  mercantile  and  banking  classes 
were  not  found  in  the  City  of  London,  where  were  they  ?  The 
following  table  will,  by  suggestion,  help  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion. 

*  This  one  apprentice — sole  type  of  his  class — represented  1,764 
apprentices,  enrolled  in  the  Chamber  of  London,  as  under  Indenture  at 
the  date  of  the  Census  of  1861  ;  to  say  nothing  of  lads  of  this  class  un- 
enrolled,  and  a  large  number  not  bound  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of 
London.  The  apprentices  of  the  City  are  estimated  to  exceed  three 
thousand;  148  of  whom  are  actually  in  the  establishment  in  which  the 
Census  Tables  were  printed  I 


26 


COMMERCIAL   MEN    IN   THE   METROPOLIS. 


There  were  found  on  the  night  of  the  census  in  1861,  in 
the  following  districts  of  the  Metropolis  : — 

City  Men  of  SIX  Specified  Commercial  Classes,  enumerated  as 
Sleeping  Inhabitants  of  the  several  Metropolitan  Districts. 


Districts  of  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works. 


City  of  London  

St.  George's,  Hanover  Sq 

Marylebone   

St.  Pancras    

Paddington    

Islington    

Lambeth    

Kensington    

St.  James's,  Westminster. 

Lewisham  

Hackney 

Wandsworth 

Poplar 

Westminster 

Chelsea  

Strand 

Shoreditch 

Whitechapel 

Greenwich 

St.  Giles's  

St.  Martin's  

Camberwell   

Clerkenwell   

Newington 

Limehouse 

St.  George-in-the-East    .. 

Holborn 

Rotherhithe,  etc 

Bethnal  Green  

Mile  End  Old  Town    

St.  Luke's  

Fulham  

St.  Saviour 

Bermondsey  

Hampstead    

St.  George,  South wark  .. 
Woolwich  

Totals 


356 

197 

345 
306 
Given 
563 
323 
707 

134 
222 

277 

194 
22 
46 
40 
74 
57 
5o 
•  85 

136 
62 

197 

57 
87 

13 
6 

52 
14 
14 
25 
7i 
Given 

14 

13 

132 

30 

Given 


4,921 


9 

33 
23 

in  the 
27 

7 
47 

7 

6 

13 
15 
o 

6 

6 

6 

o 

o 

1 
13 

3 

5 

o 

8 

o 

o 

1 

o 

I 

o 

I 
in  the 

o 

o 
11 

o 
in  the 


lis 

■g    S    O 
00    o 


33 

44 
101 
114 
census 
211 
170 
228 

17 
109 
166 

87 
20 
21 

35 
12 
26 
13 
56 
33 

5 

107 

21 

32 

3 

3 
27 

5 
20 

17 
11 

census 

7 

9 

37 

8 

census 


1,808 


54 

18 

22 

61 

with 

no 

76 

49 

9 

5i 

94 

19 

60 

3 
7 

5 
18 

14 

65 

7 

7 

58 

10 

23 
32 
18 
11 
11 

4 
4i 

4 
with 

1 
11 
21 

6 
with 


1,000 


59 

43 
60 
144 
Ken 
216 
in 
100 

3 
40 

149 

44 
20 

30 
3i 
24 
73 
15 
53 
24 
5 

85 
31 
68 

7 
6 

27 
5 
21 
38 
22 
Ken 


17 

13 

Green 


1.622 


g  2 


s  5 


773 

373 

613 

1,010 

sington. 
2,039 

1.274 
761 
168 
316 

1.465 
277 
245 
234 
222 
201 

739 
140 

3J7 
322 
123 
858 

369 

772 

"3 
81 

299 
138 
295 
504 
145 

sington. 

76 

188 

101 

180 

wich. 


15,731 


1,284 

708 
1,164 
1,649 

3,166 
1,961 
1,892 
338 
744 
2,164 
636 
367 
340 
34i 
322 
9J3 
232 
577 
535 
205 

II31© 
488 
990 
168 
114 
417 
173 
355 
625 

254 

106 
241 
3i9 
237 


25.345 


CITY    MEN    IN    THE    COUNTRY. 


27 


In  all  25,345  persons;  almost  all   of  whom,  it   may  be  safely 
affirmed,  belonged,  during  the  day,  to  the  City  of  London. 

The  list  might  be  extended  to  every  district  beyond  the  Me- 
tropolis ;  for  the  suburban  residences  of  the  monied  and  mer- 
cantile classes  are  not,  by  any  means,  confined  to  the  Metro- 
politan districts ;  and  the  whole  mercantile  classes  of  the  City 
will  not  be  found  until  the  census  tables  shall  have  been 
searched  as  far  as,  say  Brighton  in  the  south,  Hatfield  at  the 
north,  and  Windsor  and  Chelmsford  at  the  west  and  east  of 
London,  respectively.  The  subjoined  table  of  four  specified 
classes  of  City  men,  sleeping  within  certain  places  selected 
from  beyond  the  Metropolitan  districts,  will  place  this  point 
above  controversy. 

Merchants,  etc.,  Sleeping  BEYOND  the  Metropolitan  Districts, 
in  certain  Places  Selected.    [Census  of  1861.] 


3 

tj]3  . 

ill 

! 

0 
1 

3 

I5 
0 

3 

3 

i 
i 

.3 

I 

1 

3 

H 
I3 

i 

I 

Barnet    ... 

16 

II 

32 

59 

Kingston  . 

53 

48 

11 

61 

173 

Brentford  . 

52 

25 

27 

90 

194 

Reading... 

16 

7 

13 

33 

69 

Brighton... 

74 

21 

44 

99 

238 

Reigate  ... 

36 

19 

6 

26 

87 

Bromley... 

49 

18 

4 

3° 

101 

Richmond. 

39 

21 

13 

4S 

n8 

Chertsey... 

21 

IO 

3 

5 

39 

Romford . . 

27 

10 

5 

37 

79 

Croydon... 

155 

106 

25 

169 

455 

Staines    ... 

10 

7 

5 

10 

33 

Dartford... 

26 

26 

12 

32 

96 

Steyning... 

17 

7 

4 

16 

44 

Edmonton. 

89 

114 

32 

275 

5io 

Tunbridge 

13 

7 

8 

2S 

S3 

Eltham  ... 

18 

5 

7 

16 

46 

Uxbridge.. 

9 

1 

5 

29 

44 

Epping  ... 

9 

H 

2 

14 

39 

Ware  

10 

2 

1 

15 

28 

Epsom    ... 

36 

21 

7 

34 

98 

West  Ham 

97 

78 

29 

24I 

445 

Eton    

10 

2 

3 

19 

34 

Worthing . 

ii 

4 

... 

13 

28 

Guildford . 

13 

2 

4 

32 

5i 

Windsor... 

*5 

11 

3 

23 

.53 

Gravesend. 

10 

22 

9 

39 

80 

Hendon ... 

27 

8 

6 

34 

75  | 

Totals... 

958    627 

288 

1494  3367 

A  return  of  the  number  of  season-tickets  issued  by  the 
railways  to  places,  say,  from  twelve  to  fifty  miles  from  London 
would  confirm  this  statement. 


28  COMMERCIAL  MEN   SLEEPING   IN   THE   CITY. 

The  totals  of  the  table  of  the  persons  engaged  in  the 
six  commercial  occupations  specified,  sleeping  within  the 
Metropolis  give  us  : — 

Merchants 4>92i 

Bankers  263 

Stock  and  commercial  brokers 1,808 

Ship-owners,  brokers  and  agents   1,000 

Accountants    1,622 

Commercial  clerks 15,731 


25.345 

To  which  add  the  total  of  the  above  table  of 
merchants  and  others  residing  beyond  the  Me- 
tropolitan area 3,367 

Total 28,712 


It  will  be  seen,  that,  against  this  total,  only  1,284  persons 
were  returned  as  in  the  City  of  London,  on  the  night  of 
the  census,  viz.  : — 

Merchants 356  * 

Bankers   9 

Stock  and  commercial  brokers  33 

Ship-owners,  brokers  and  agents   54 

Accountants    59 

Commercial  clerks 773 

Total 1,284 


It  will  therefore  appear  that,  of  the  specified  classes  above 
enumerated,  the  City  of  London  is,  by  the  census  tables, 
credited  with  1,284  persons   out   of  28,712,  being  less  than 


RESIDENCES   OF   THE   CORPORATION   MEMBERS.  29 

five  per  cent,  of  that  portion  of  the  population  which  almost 
exclusively  belongs  to  it;  whilst  other  districts  in  and  near 
the  Metropolis  have  accorded  to  them  more  than  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  the  mercantile,  banking,  financial  and  shipping 
classes  of  the  City  of  London.* 

The  inadequacy  of  the  above  figures  to  test  the  actual 
numbers  will  be  apparent,  if  we  treat  separately  one  of  the 
six  specified  classes.  To  select  the  class  of  Brokers : — The 
Census  tables,  as  above,  account  for  only  33  as  found  in  the 
City  out  of  1,808  Brokers  returned  as  sleeping  within  the 
Metropolis.  The  subjoined  table,  extracted  from  the  London 
Stock  Exchange  Official  List,  and  from  the  Post-office  Direc- 
tory, shews  that  3,297  Brokers,  in  all,  carry  on  their  business 
within  the  City  of  London. 


*  We  give  an  illustration  of  the  prevalent  misconception  on  these 
points  which  exists  in  well-informed  quarters  : — 

Dr.  Farr,  of  the  Registrar- General's  office,  being  asked  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  on  Local  Government  and  Taxation, 
(Qu.  2,420)  "Are  you  not  aware  that  nearly  all  those  who  take  the 
management  of  the  affairs  of  the  City  of  London  do  not  sleep  in  the  City 
at  night?"  replied,  "  I  was  not  aware  of  that ;  I  thought  the  Common 
Council  generally  were  resident  (i.e.,  sleeping  resident)  shopkeepers,  and 
other  people  of  that  class."  We  have  taken  the  trouble  to  obtain  an 
exact  return  of  the  residence  of  every  member  of  the  Corporation 
(Aldermen  and  Councilmen),  and  we  find  that,  out  of  the  total  of  232 
members,  197  have  suburban  or  country  residences,  and  would  not, 
therefore,  be  returned  in  the  Census  as  connected  with  the  City.  Only 
the  remaining  35  live  and  sleep  within  the  City. 

Of  die  total,  there  reside  and  sleep  within  the  City  of 

London 35 

,,          ,,     sleep  within  the  Metropolitan  area...  163 

p          11       »»     beyond  the  Metropolitan  area...  34 

Total  Members  of  the  Corporation 232 


3° 


THE    BROKERS    OF   THE    CITY. 


Number  of  BROKERS   Carrying  on   Business  in  the  City  of 
London  : — 


Bill 71 

Bullion    27 

Coach 15 

Coffee 10 

Colonial  .'. 223 

Cork      2 

Cotton 25 

Discount 41 

Drug    59 

Exchange 41 

Fire  Insurance    5 

Fruit    26 

Hide  and  Fur 16 

India    70 

Indigo 38 

Insurance    190 

Ivory  10 

Lead    4 

Metal  64 


Mining    10 

Oil,  etc.   67 

Provision     5 

Rice 3 

Russia 61 

For  Sale  of  Ships  3 

Ship  and  Insurance   653 

Silk 29 

Stock  and  Share  1,232 

Sugar  23 

Tea 106 

Timber    26 

Tobacco  34 

Wine  and  Spirit 48 

Wool   60 

Total 3,297 

Firms  estimated  at  2.\  each. 


It  thus  appears  that  only  33  Brokers  were  included  in  the 
night  Census  of  1861,  as  in  the  City,  out  of  a  total  of  3,297 
Brokers — being  just  one  per  cent,  of  the  whole  !  * 


Uncertainty  on  these  points  is .  now  happily  at  an  end. 
The  Corporation  of  London,  noticing  the  frequent  abuse  of 
the  figures  which  conventionally  represent  the  population  of 
the  City — perceiving,  as  they  thought,  a  disposition  in  certain 
quarters  to  re-arrange  the  Metropolis,  for  Municipal  purposes, 
on  that  delusive  basis — observing  also  the  constantly  increas- 
ing fiscal  power  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  and 
the  inadequate  share  of  representation  which  the  City  pos- 
sesses at  that  Board,  relatively  to  the  other  districts  of  the 

*  The  facts  above  stated  were  brought  by  Mr.  Crawford,  M.  P. ,  before 
the  House  of  Commons  during  the  discussions  on  the  Representation  of  the 
People  in  England  and  Wales  Bill,  in  1867,  and  the  result  was  that  the 
limits  of  residence  for  voters  for  the  City  of  London  were  extended  from 
seven  miles  to  twenty-five  miles. 


FALLACIOUSNESS    OF   A   NIGHT   CENSUS.  3 1 

Metropolis,  held  it  to  be  their  duty  to  set  at  rest  the  question 
of  the  actual  population  of  the  City  by  taking  a  DAY  CENSUS 
of  its  inhabitants. 

The  results  have  been  recently  made  public  in  a  Report, 
issued  by  authority  of  the  Corporation.  It  supplies  figures 
which,  until  1871  (when  it  is  hoped  that  the  Registrar- 
General  will  undertake  a  similar  census)  must  serve  as  data 
for  arriving  at  a  fair  approximate  estimate  of  the  relative 
importance  of  the  City  in  relation  to  the  rest  of  the 
Metropolis  —  so  far  as  population  can  form  a  basis  of 
comparison. 

The   gross    inconsistency   of   measuring  the   City   by   its 

sleeping  population  which,  as  shewn,  omits  almost  entirely,  the 

Commercial  element  of  the  commercial  capital  of  the  world, 

is  well  and  briefly  stated  in  the  following  extract  from  the 

Corporation  Report : — 

"In  taking  a  Census,  to  ignore  the  mill-owners  and  spinners  of  Man- 
chester ;  or  to  omit  the  coal-owners,  workers  and  shippers  of  Northumber- 
land ;  or  to  gather  the  Census  of  Belgravia  and  West  London  in  the 
autumn,  when  aristocracy  is  out  of  town,  would  not  so  grossly  misrepresent 
facts  as  to  eliminate  the  banking,  mercantile  and  commercial  element  from 
the  enumeration  of  the  City  of  London  by  taking  its  Census  in  the  night." 

The  statements  we  have  already  made,  and  the  absurd 
results  which  have  been  deduced  from  the  figures  previously 
given,  must  be  conclusive  as  to  the  necessity  which  existed  for 
the  Day  Census.  Its  utility  in  relation  to  several  important 
problems  which  await  solution  in  reference  to  the  "Local 
Government  and  Taxation  of  the  Metropolis "  cannot  be 
questioned. 

The  Royal  Commissioners  on  Municipal  Corporations 
(1837)  in  their  Second  Report,  indicate  their  opinion  of  the 
fallaciousness  of  the  usual  census  of  the  City  population  as  a 
test  of  its  relative  importance.     They  observe — 


32  OPINIONS   TO   THAT    EFFECT. 

"We  doubt  much  whether  the  comparative  rates  of  increase  and 
decrease  furnish  any  satisfactory  test  of  the  relative  importance  of  the 
districts.  One  objection  to  such  a  test  is,  that,  under  the  particular  cir- 
cumstances of  the  City,  it  seems  not  difficult  to  suggest  reasons  why  a  rise 
in  its  prosperity  may  produce  a  diminution  in  its  population.  Thus  an 
advance  in  its  prosperity  might  render  land  more  valuable  for  warehouses, 
and  therefore  drive  out  the  poorer  population.  It  is  also  to  be  observed 
that  much  of  the  importance  of  the  City  arises  from  its  being  the  daily 
resort  of  great  numbers  who,  as  they  do  not  sleep  in  it,  are  not  strictly  a 
part  of  its  population  ;  and  that  the  prevalence  of  this  habit  has  been 
continually  on  the  increase  during  the  present  century." 

Mr.  Haywood,  C.E.,  in  a  report  which  bears  upon  this 
important  subject,*  makes  the  following  remark  upon  the 
delusive  nature  of  the  figures  hitherto  made  use  of  to  repre- 
sent the  City  population  : — - 

"The  present  sleeping  population  neither  represents  the  actual  popula- 
tion, nor  the  vastness  of  the  City  in  any  respect,  for  it  is  mainly  composed 
of  the  poor  labouring  classes,  or  of  those  left  in  charge  of  the  various 
premises  ;  and  year  by  year  it  will  be  less  representative  of  the  City. " 

But  the  most  important  testimony  which  has  as  yet 
appeared,  in  reference  to  this  subject,  is  that  of  Dr.  Farr, 
Superintendent  of  the  Statistical  Department  of  the  Registrar- 
General. 

In  reply  to  a  question  (No.  2,422)  put  to  him  by  the  Select 
Committee  appointed  by  the  House  of  Commons  to  inquire 
into  the  "  Local  Government  and  Taxation  of  the  Metropolis," 
that  gentleman  replied — 

"It  is  quite  fair,  I  think,  in  considering  the  relative  importance  of  the 
City  of  London,  to  take  that  element  (that  persons  having  offices  in  the 
City,  sleep  out  of  the  City)  into  account.  It  is  not  taken  into  account  in 
the  census.  The  City  is,  no  doubt,  of  much  greater  importance  than  it 
appears,  if  you  consider  merely  the  figures  given  in  the  census. " 

*  "Report  on  Traffic,  etc.,  City  of  London. "  By  W.  Haywood, 
M.  Inst.  C.E.  ;  F.R.I.  A.B.,  Surveyor  and  Engineer  to  the  City  Commis- 
sioners of  Sewers.     1866. 


TOTALS    OF   THE   CITY    DAY-CENSUS.  $$ 

The  subjoined  statement  gives  the  totals  of  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  City  and  Liberties  made  by  the  Corporation  in 
1866:— 

The  total  day  population  residing  in  the  City     283,520 


The  number  of  persons  resorting  to  the  City 
daily  in  sixteen  hours  (not  included  in  the 
above),  being  customers,  clients,  and  other 
frequenters    509,611 


The  total  number  of  persons  resorting  to  the 

City  daily  in  a  day  of  sixteen  hours    679,744 


The  total  number  of  persons  resorting  to  the 

City  daily  in  a  day  of  twenty-four  hours...     728,986 


We  are  noiv  in  a  position  to  bring  statistical  science,  with 
some  degree  of  certainty,  to  bear  upon  a  variety  of  questions 
intimately  affecting  the  dwellers  within  the  Metropolis;  and 
which  will  more  and  more  excite  their  interest  as  they  shall 
feel  the  weight  of  increasing  burthens — the  result  of  existing 
local  arrangements. 

The  population  of  the  City  proper  is  seen  to  be  highly 
migratory  in  its  character.  It  is  also  on  the  increase,  for  by 
the  City  Census  Report  it  is  shewn  that,  comparing  the  results 
of  an  enumeration  made  by  the  late  Mr.  D.  W.  Harvey,  Police 
Commissioner,  in  i860,  with  the  results  gathered  in  1866, 
there  is  an  increased  daily  flow  into  the  City,  during  twelve 
hours,  of  21,977  persons  since  his  enumeration. 


34  INCREASING   TRAFFIC   IN   THE   CITY. 

With  reference  to  the  extraordinary  throng  of  daily  fre- 
quenters of  the  City  and  its  thoroughfares,  we  quote '  the 
following  important  conclusions  arrived  at  by  Mr.  Haywood 
in  his  Report  on  Street  Traffic,  already  alluded  to.  He 
summarizes  thus : — 

"  That  the  residential  or  sleeping  population  of  the  City 
was  in  1861,  113,387,  and  is  likely  to  diminish;  but  that  the 
true  population  is  composed  of  those  to  whom  the  City  is  the 
place  of  daily  resort,  and  which  is  perhaps  three-quarters  of  a 
million  in  addition  to  the  sleeping  population. 

"  That  the  traffic  of  the  City  has  for  several  years  been 
increasing  in  a  greater  ratio  than  the  increase  of  the  Metro- 
politan population. 

"That  in  1848  a  traffic  equal  to  one-seventh  of  the  whole 
Metropolitan  population  entered  the  City  during  nine  of  the 
busiest  hours  of  the  day. 

"That  in  i860  a  traffic  equal  to  nearly  one-fifth  of  the 
whole  Metropolitan  population  entered  the  City  during  twelve 
of  the  busiest  hours  of  the  day  ;  and  a  traffic  equal  to  one-fourth 
of  the  whole  Metropolitan  population  during  the  twenty-four 
hours. 

"That  the  traffic  which  enters  the  City  daily,  and  which 
is  chiefly  composed  of  males,  is  equal  in  number  to  one-half  of 
the  whole  male  population  of  the  Metropolis. 

"  That  the  traffic  now  entering  the  City  daily  is  about 
three-quarters  of  a  million,  and  in  forty  years  hence  will 
probably  be  a  million  and  a  half 


IMPROVED    MEANS   OF   TRANSIT   NECESSARY.  35 

"That  the  great  bulk  of  the  Metropolitan  population 
select  their  residences  with  a  view  to  the  facility  with  which 
the  City  can  be  reached. 

"  That  it  is  for  their  convenience  chiefly  that  improvement 
in  the  City  thoroughfares  is  needed;  and  not  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  residential  (or  sleeping)  population  of  the 
City  only. 

"  That  this  daily  business  population  needs  now,  and 
hereafter  will  need  still  more,  improved  means  of  transit  to 
the  City. 

"That,  within  the  City  itself,  there  is  hardly  a  leading 
thoroughfare  which  is  equal  to  the  traffic  that  passes  through 
it." — Report,  pp.  108,  109. 


But,  to  return  to  the  relative  importance  of  the  City  of 
London.  It  will  be  seen,  by  what  has  preceded,  that  the  City 
is  not,  as  yet,  depopulated,  as  some,  on  insufficient  data,  have 
too  hastily  assumed  j  nor  are  its  streets  deserted.  Whether 
its  houses  are  "uninhabited,"  and  its  population  depraved, 
remain  to  be  seen — subjects  which  must  be  treated  of  in 
subsequent  chapters. 

We  can  only  affirm,  at  present,  that  relatively  to  Ken- 
sington and  the  Metropolis,  the  City  is  not,  in  any  sense,  in  the 
position  which  has  been  attributed  to  it. 

We  have  proved — 

That  the  term  "  Kensington  "  has  been  used  in  a  sense 
which  does  not  mean  Kensington,  but  a  much  larger 
district. 


36.  IMMENSE   DAILY   INVASION    OF   THE   CITY. 

That  a  "  year  by  year  decrease "  of  one  per  cent,  in 
the  sleeping  population  of  the  City  does  not  mean  any- 
thing of  the  kind ;  but,  that,  instead  of  a  ratio  of  one  per 
cent,  annually,  or  ioo  per  cent,  in  a  century  (so  that  the 
City  would  be  depopulated  in  197 1),  the  true  ratio  is 
barely  14  per  cent,  in  a  hundred  years. 

That  the  term  "  inhabitant,"  made  use  of  in  reference 
to  the  City,  does  not  mean  inhabitant,  but  merely  a  person 
sleeping  in  the  City.  That  the  resident  population  of 
the  City,  at  the  very  least,  is  283,520,  while  that 
of  Kensington,  at  its  maximum,  is  but  70,108,  being 
less  than  a  fourth  part  of  the  population  of  the  City  of 
London ;  and  further,  it  has  been  shewn,  as  resulting 
from  all  this,  that  Kensington  is  in  no  position  to  over- 
take the  City  of  London  as  it  regards  population. 

That  "  the  army  that  moves  on  the  City  daily,  is  unparal- 
leled in  numbers  by  any  human  tide  which  has  ever  moved 
on  any  city,"  we  have  not  attempted  to  disprove ;  for  it  has 
been  ascertained,  as  we  have  seen,  that  that  army  consists 
of  no  less  than  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  persons,  five- 
sixths  of  whom  consist  of  males,  resorting  to  the  City  daily 
for  purposes  of  business.  That  "army"  is  likewise  on  the 
increase — 21,977  persons  having  been  added  to  it  daily  during 
the  busiest  hours  of  the  day,  in  a  period  of  six  years.* 

It  remains  to  be  stated  that  a  tendency  to  decrease  in  the 
sleeping  population  is  not  by  any  means  confined  to  the  City 
of  London ;  but  that  a  similar  migration  from  the  centres  of 
business  during  the  night  is  taking  place  elsewhere,  and  will 

*  See  "  City  Census  Report,"  p.  II. 


DECREASE  OF  SLEEPING  POPULATION  IN  LONDON  EXTRA.     37 

continue  to  do  so  within  the  Metropolis.     This  is  particularly 
noticeable,  as  might  be  expected,  in  the  City  of  Westminster. 

This  decrease  in  the  sleeping  population  has  already  been  : 

Persons. 

In  St.  James's  Parish in  10  years  1,080 

in  20  years  2,072 

In  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields in  10  years  1,951 

; in  40  years  5,563 

In  St.  Mary-le-Strand     in  10  years   445 

In  St.  Paul's,  Covent  Garden    ...  in  10  years  656 

In  St.  Margaret's,  Westminster...  in  10  years  535 

In  most  of  the  above  cases  the  ratio  of  decrease,  relatively 
to  population,  is  much  higher  than  in  the  City  of  London. 
The  Registrar-General  takes  notice  of  this  decrease  in  respect 
of  several  parishes.     He  says,  of  St.  Margaret's  parish — 

"  The  decrease  of  population  has  been  progressive  for  some  years, 
owing  to  private  families  having  left  for  the  advantage  of  letting  their  houses 
for  solicitors',  engineers'  and  railway  contractors'  offices  ;  to  the  pulling 
down  of  houses  for  the  new  thoroughfare  to  Pimlico  (Victoria  Street),  and 
in  contemplation  of  new  Public  Offices." 

Here  we  have  an  insight  into  the  causes  which  are  reducing 
the  sleeping  population  of  Westminster,  and  which  are  iden- 
tical with  those  operating  in  the  City  of  London.  Private 
families,  with  their  domestics  and  children,  are  giving  place  to 
solicitors,  engineers,  and  other  men  of  business  and  public  men  ; 
but  who  is  to  say  that  Victoria  Street,  Westminster,  is  not  of  as 
much  relative  importance  as  a  street  of  private  residences  ? 

The  following  Metropolitan  parishes  and  sub-districts 
shew  a  decreased  sleeping  population  in  1861,  as  compared 
with  1 85 1  : — 


38 


PARISHES   WITH   DECREASED   POPULATIONS. 


St.  Andrew's,  Holborn  (above  Bars)  

St.  Giles-in-the- Fields 

Spitalfields    ... 

Whitechapel 

St.  Paul's,  Covent  Garden 

Liberty  of  the  Rolls    

St.  Leonard,  Shoreditch    

St.  Paul,  Shadwell 

St.  Saviour,  Southwark 

St.  Olave,  „  

St.  Thomas,       ,,  

St.  George's  (Hanover  Square  sub-district) 
,,  (May  Fair  ,,  ) 


Sleeping  Population. 

Deorease. 

1851. 

1861. 

29,320 

28,721 

599 

37.407 

36,684 

723 

20,960 

20,593 

367 

37,848 

37.454 

394 

5,810 

5.154 

656 

2,564 

2,274 

290 

19,449 

19,188 

261: 

11,702 

8.499 

3.203 

19,709 

19,101 

608 

6,460 

6,197 

263 

1.555 

1,466 

89 

20,216 

19.773 

443 

12,980 

12,885 

95 

It  must  not  be  assumed  that,  because  the  sleeping  popu- 
lation of  Westminster  diminishes,  it  is  consequently  dimi- 
nishing in  importance.  The  contrary  is  known  to  be  the  fact ; 
and  the  same  remark  applies  to  many  parishes  in  the  above 
list.  A  constant,  gradual  and  inevitable  migration  is  taking 
place,  which  will  reduce  the  sleeping  population  in  the 
great  centres  of  industry  and  trade — augmenting,  more  and 
more,  in  this  sense,  the  outlying  portions  of  the  Metropolis. 
It  will  become  the  duty  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cities  of 
London  and  Westminster,  and  of  places  similarly  circum- 
stanced, to  see  that  no  injustice  is  done  by  placing  representa- 
tion upon  an  empirical  basis — derived  from  a  false  view  of  the 
term  "inhabitant"  as  used  in  the  Registration  Tables. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE     RELATIVE     IMPORTANCE     OF     THE     CITY DETERMINED    BY 

THE    NUMBER    AND     VALUE     OF     ITS     HOUSES,    INHABITED 
AND    UNINHABITED. 

THE  relative  importance  of  a  district  may  be  conveniently 
estimated  by  the  number  and  value  of  its  houses.  We 
propose,  therefore,  to  test  the  relative  importance  of  the  City 
to  the  rest  of  the  Metropolis  by  ascertaining  the  number  and 
value  of  its  houses — inquiring  how  far  they  are  inhabited. 

The  Reports  of  the  Registrar-General  as  to  the  number  of 
houses  in  the  City,  if  accepted  without  explanation  or  qualifi- 
cation, convey  the  same  melancholy  idea  of  decay  and  desola- 
tion as  do  the  figures,  to  which  we  have  referred,  respecting 
population. 

The  following  table  is  extracted  from  the  census  returns 
of  the  present  century,  and  shews,  it  will  be  observed,  a 
decreasing  number  of  houses  inhabited,  and  an  increasing 
number  of  houses  ^/inhabited  within  the  City.  What  more 
conclusive  evidence  of  decay  could  be  presented  ?  So  argue 
the  matter-of-fact  statisticians  ! 


4Q 


ASSUMED    DECREASE   OF   INHABITED    HOUSES. 


Census  of 

Houses 
Inhabited. 

Houses 
Uninhabited. 

Total 
Houses. 

Houses 
Building. 

l8ll 

17»4I3 

458 

17,871 

6x 

1821 

17, 170 

I.OI5 

18,185 

105 

1831 

16, 735 

1,131 

17,866 

81 

1841 

16,051 

980 

I7.03I 

95 

1 851 

14,706 

1.454 

16,160 

29 

1861 

I3.43I 

2,057 

15.488 

97 

The  decrease  of  inhabited  houses,  during  the  last  fifty 
years,  has  been  3,982  houses,  or  at  the  rate  of  23  per  cent.  ! 
and  the  increase  of  ^inhabited  houses  in  the  same  period  has 
been  1,599 — being  at  the  rate  of  350  per  cent.  !  1 ! 

Lamentable,  indeed,  must  be  the  condition  of  that  Empire 
whose  Capital  city  of  15,488  houses  is  so  reduced,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  its  citizens,  that  thirteen  in  every  hundred  of  them  is, 
on  the  official  report  of  its  chief  statistician,  #«inhabited ;  for, 
if  2,000  houses  in  the  City  are  uninhabited,  must  not  the 
effect  be,  so  to  reduce  the  rental  of  the  other  13,488,  as  greatly 
to  impoverish  their  unfortunate  owners  ? 

Before  we  address  ourselves  to  the  causes  of  this  decay,  or 
even  inquire  whether  it  exists,  let  us  endeavour  to  estimate 
its  extent — to  afford  the  mind  some  assistance  in  enabling 
it  to  grasp  the  idea  presented  by  the  above  figures — com- 
paring with  the  uninhabited  houses  of  the  City  those  in- 
habited in  other  more  favoured  Cities,  Towns  and  Parishes. 

The  decrease  in  the  number  of  houses — 1811 

to  1861,  was    3)982 

The  increase  of  houses  ^inhabited  was r>599 


Total  houses  pulled  down  and  untenanted      5,581 


ASSUMED   DESOLATION    OF   THE   CITY,    MEASURED.  4 1 

The   decrease   in   the   last  decennial  period 

— 1851  to  1861,  was  1,275 

Houses  at  present  uninhabited 2,05  7 

Total  of  houses  which  have  disappeared  in 

10  years,  and  of  houses  now  untenanted     3,332 

The  desolation  presented  by  5,581  houses  which  have 
either  disappeared  or  become  untenanted  in  the  City  of 
London,  since  181 1,  may  be  conveniently  estimated  by  compar- 
ing those  figures  with  the  total  number  of  /^habited  houses  in 
any  of  the  Cities  undermentioned — on  the  supposition  that  the 
most  populous  of  the  cities  were  left  without  an  inhabitant  ! 


City 

of  Oxford           Inhabited  houses 

l86l        5,234 

„     Carlisle                  „                     , 

5^40 

,     Lincoln                  , 

>                     ) 

4,315 

,     Canterbury            , 

»                     3 

3,9°8 

,     Rochester             , 

y                                  j 

3,°74 

,     Hereford               , 

> 

3>°°5 

,     Gloucester 

t 

2,854 

,     Peterboro' 

) 

2,401 

,     Winchester 

> 

2,392 

„     Salisbury 

J 

2,344 

„     Durham 

1 

2,007 

„     Chichester 

tt 

»             1,601 

»     Ely 

>> 

i,559 

„     Wells 

>> 

863 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  assumed  desolation  in  the  City 
of  London  is  equivalent  to  the  obliteration  of  the  most  popu- 
lous of  the  above  Cities,  or  of  the  united  Cities  of  Chichester, 
Ely  and  Wells — with  1,558  houses,  equal  to  another  City  of 
Ely,  to  spare. 

The  desolation  presented  to  the  mind  by  5,581  houses 
pulled  down  or  untenanted,  since  181 1,  may  be  further  esti- 


42         FURTHER    ILLUSTRATION   OF   ASSUMED   DESOLATION. 

mated  by  supposing  that  the  most  populous  of  the  under- 
mentioned Parishes  or  Districts  of  the  Metropolis  were  left 
without  an  inhabitant : — 

Parishes  and  Districts.  Houses 

St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields 2,240* 

St.  James's,  Westminster 3,333* 

St.  John's,         Ditto        3*723  * 

St.  Margaret's,  Ditto 3>°39  I 

St.  Mary's,  Paddington    4,826  } 

St.  John's,         Ditto        4,861  j 

Fulham 2,48 1  * 

St.    Giles-in-the-Fields    and    St.    George, 

Bloomsbury  4,690* 

St.  Saviour's,  Southwark  District 4*47 I# 

Holborn  District  4*176* 

Woolwich  4>596* 

Lewisham 3*789* 

Strand  District 3,742* 

St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  Hammersmith    ...  4,164 

St.  Anne,  Limehouse   3*694 

Wapping,  Shadwell  and  Ratcliff 3*747 

Bromley,  St.  Leonard's    3*4°7 

St.  Mary's,  Rotherhithe    3*521 

Clapham    3*404 

Plumstead  and  Charlton 4,3 1 2 

Spitalfields     2,063 

Whitechapel  4*395 

Battersea,  with  Penge  3*793 

The  desolation  wrought  in  ten  years  by  3,332  houses 
removed  since  1851  and  houses  now  untenanted,  may  be 
estimated  by  supposing  that  the  most  populous  of  the  under- 
mentioned Towns,  returning  Members  to  Parliament,  were  left 
without  an  inhabitant : — 

*  The  Parishes  or  Districts  marked  with  an  asterisk  (*)  return  members 
to  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works. 


ITS    EFFECT   ON   T^E   VALUE   OF   PROPERTY. 


43 


Borough  Towns.  *»*£«£ 

Lancaster    2,992 

Morpeth 2,312 

Newark   2,558 

Newcastle-under-Lyne  2,659 

Pontefract  2,596 

St.  Ives   2,116 

Sandwich  and  Deal    ...  2,672 

Stafford  2,241 

Tamworth  2,103 

Taunton 2,899 

Tiverton 2,210 

Truro  2,391 

Warwick 2,272 

Whitby    2,464 


Borough  Towns.  IgjJ^ 

Banbury 2,068 

Barnstaple  2,186 

Bedford  2,752 

Beverley 2,403 

Bridgewater    2,123 

Bury  St.  Edmund's    ...   2,852 

Clitheroe     2,247 

Falmouth  and    Penryn  2,238 

Frome 2,066 

Grantham    2,254 

Great  Grimsby   3,161 

Hastings 3,290 

Hythe 2,843 

Kendal    2,590 

We  next  proceed  to  inquire — If  there  has  been  such  an 
amount  of  decay  and  consequent  depopulation  as  is  depicted 
by  these  figures,  what  has  been  its  effect  upon  the  value  of 
the  property  of  the  unfortunate  owners  ? — what  the  consequent 
reduction  of  rents  ? — and  what  the  diminution  in  the  taxable 
rental  of  the  City  ? 

And  here  we  are  met,  as  before,  by  an  astounding  paradox  ! 
Houses  have  been  removed  and  rendered  untenantable  to  the 
number  of  5,581  in  50  years,  or  to  the  extent  of  3,332  in  10 
years;  but  the  annual  value  of  the  City  has  risen  from 
,£565,243  to  £2,109,935 — an  increase  of  no  less  a  sum  than 
,£1,544,692  per  annum. 

For,  the  rental  of  the  City  was,  in  1811...  ,£565,243 
It  is  now,  according  to  the  last  assessment 

of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works    ...  2, 1 09,935 

Increased  annual  value  in  55  years £1,544,692 

This  is  at  the  rate  of  213  per  cent.  /* 

*  Since  1866,  the  Rateable  Value  of  the  City  (exclusive  of  the  Temple) 
has  further  increased  10^3,051,381  in  1876,  showing  a  ratio  of  increase 
since  181 1  of  over  439  per  cent.  II 


44  A   NETWORK   OF   FALLACIES. 

Such  a  result  appears  even  more  paradoxical  than  that 
which  we  presented  in  relation  to  the  assumed  diminution 
of  the  City's  population.  We  seem  again  to  be  involved  in 
a  network  of  fallacies;  let  us  strive  to  clear  our  way  as  we 
best  may.     The  fallacies  would  appear  to  be  chiefly  three — 

i.  It  is  overlooked  that  a  "house "is  not  a  common 
measure  of  magnitude  or  value. 

2.  It  is  assumed  that  displacement  of  houses  necessarily 
implies  destruction  of  property  and  diminished  value. 

3.  The  term  "  ^inhabited  house "  does  not  mean  un- 
inhabited house,  but  something  else. 

Fallacy  1.  It  is  overlooked  that  a  "house"  is  not  a  com- 
mon measure  of  magnitude  or  value;  and  that,  unless  it  be 
used  intelligently,  to  measure  relative  importance,  it  will 
only  mislead. 

•  A  bushel  is  a  standard  measure  of  definite  contents,  and 
with  it  we  measure  corn.  A  quart  is  a  legal  measure  of  liquid 
quantity,  and  with  it  we  measure  beer.  What  is  a  house  ?  Is 
it  a  common  or  equable  measure  of  anything?  A  house  is 
to  the  Hottentot  a  kraal,  a  wigwam  to  the  Indian,  a  hovel  to 
the  agricultural  labourer,  a  pig-stye  to  the  poor  Irishman,  a 
tenement  of  from  £\  to  ^10  rental  to  the  artisan  of  Bethnal 
Green  or  Somers  Town,  a  palace  in  Belgravia  or  Tyburnia, 
a  bank,  an  insurance  office,  or  a  warehouse  six  stories  in 
height  in  the  City  of  London.  How  can  we  recognize,  as 
common  measures,  things  differing  so  greatly  in  magnitude 
and  quality  as  "  houses  "  of  undefined  size  or  value  ? 


DISPARITY    IN    VALUE    OF    HOUSES. 


45 


We  find*  that,  in  the  undermentioned  districts  respectively, 
there  are  24,636  "  houses"  of  from  £4  to  ^"10  annual  value, 
viz : — 


The  Tower  Hamlets  ...15,644 
Southwark  Borough  ...  4,635 
Lambeth  Borough 4,224 


The  City  of  London  ...  133 
St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields  nil. 
St.  James's,  Westminster      nil. 


These  figures  shew,  conclusively,  that  thus  to  estimate 
the  relative  importance  of  districts,  which  differ  so  widely  in 
their  character,  must  yield  fallacious  results. 

If  a  "house"  is  to  be  made  a  common  measure  of  fiscal 
apportionment,  or  of  relative  importance,  it  must  be  reduced 
to  a  common  value  in  all  the  districts,  or  to  a  relative  value 
for  each  district.  The  day  is  gone  by  for  measuring  butter 
by  the  yard,  the  quart  and  the  pound  in  one  and  the  same 
County ;  and  it  is  equally  unreasonable  and  unscientific  to 
treat  a  house  of  ^10,  and  one  of  ^1,000  annual  values, 
as  equal  common  measures. 

We  possess  an  easy  means  of  ascertaining  the  relative 
value  of  houses  by  dividing  the  rateable  value  of  any  district 
by  the  number  of  houses  it  contains.  We  thus  find  a  relative 
measure  which  can  be  reduced  to  a  common  measure  for  all 
the  districts. 

The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  houses  in  each  dis- 
trict of  the  Metropolis — the  rateable  values  of  each  district — the 
average  rateable  value  of  a  house  in  each  district — shewing  also 
the  relative  value  of  a  house  in  each  district — and  an  equation 
of  the  numbers  of  houses  in  each  district  of  the  Metropolis,  for 
the  purpose  of  determining  the  relative  proportion  of  fiscal 


See  Electoral  Returns,  House  of  Commons,  Session  1866. 


46 


RELATIVE   VALUE   OF   HOUSES. 


representation  which  should  be  accorded  to  each,  according  to 
the  lowest  common  value  of  a  house — viz.,  ^13  per  annum  : — 


QUANTITY  AND  RENTAL-QUALITY  OF  THE  HOUSES  IN  THE  SEVERAL 
DISTRICTS  OF  THE  METROPOLIS,   1 866. 


Districts  of  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works. 


Inhabited 
Houses. 


Rateable 
Value  of 
Districts. 


Rateable 

Value  per 

House. 


'Relatire 
Number 
of  £13 
Houses. 


St.  James's,  Westminster   

City  of  London 

St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields    

St.  George's,  Hanover  Square 

Paddington    

Strand 

St.  Marylebone 

St.  Giles's  

St.  John's,  Hampstead    , 

Kensington    

Westminster 

Holborn 

St.  Pancras    

Lewisham  

Islington 

St.  Saviour's,  Southwark 

Chelsea  

Clerkenwell    

St.  Olave's,  with  Rotherhithe.. 

Wandsworth 

St.  George's -in-the-East     

Whitechapel 

Limehouse 

Poplar 

St.  Luke's 

Lambeth 

Hackney 

Fulham  

Shoreditch 

Greenwich 

Camberwell    

St.  George's,  Southwark     

Newington 

Bermondsey  

Woolwich  

Mile-End  Old  Town    

Bethnal  Green  


3-333 

I5.431* 

2,240 

io,437 
9.687 

3.742 
16,357 
4,690 

2,653 
9,481 
6,762 
4,176 

21,852 

10,375 
20,704 

4.471 
8,3i4 

7,088 

5.730 

11,186 

6,169 

8,664 

7.441 
11,123 

6,356 
22,910 
13.392 

6,645 
17,072 
13.225 
12,098 

7.238 
12,740 

8,220 

4,596 
10,758 

I4.73i 


£ 

462,032 

2,109,93s 

265,336 

1,076,722 

758,344 
286,808 
1,053,748 
272,412 
147,624 
501,132  : 
339,66o 

194,619  ; 

925,872  ! 

411,260  ! 

777,632 

164,000 

299,868 

242,254 

194,200 

361,400 

196,917 

276,530 
234, 608 
344-320 
186,452 
637,000 
370,616 
171,876 
386,044 
274,976 
250, 000 
146,000 
240,000 
150,000 
83,000 
191,056 
192,116 


£ 
138-62 

13673 
118-45 
103*16 
78-28 
76-64 
64-42 
58-08 
5S'64 
52-85 
50-23 
46-60 
42-37 
39'64 
37'56 
36-68 
36*06 
34-17 
33-89 
32-3° 
31-92 

3I-9i 
3i-52 
3°'5P 
29-33 
27-80 
27-67 
264.1 

22#6l 
20 -79 

20-66 
20-17 

18-83 

18-24 
18-05 
17-75 
13-04 


35,540 

162,302 
20,410 
82,824 
58,334 

22,062 

81,057 
20,954 
11,355 
38,548 

26,127 

14,970 

71,220 

31,635 
59.817 

12,615 
23,066 

18,634 
14.938 

27,800 

15.147 
21,271 
18,046 
26,486 
14.342 

49,000 
28,508 
13,221 

29,695 

21,152 
19,230 
11,230 
18,461 

11.538 
6,384 

14,696 

14.778 


C  orrected  figure. 


RELATIVE    NUMBER    OF    HOUSES. 


47 


It  will  be  seen,  on  reference  to  the  third  column  of  the 
above  table,  that  the  average  rateable  value  of  a  house  in  the 
several  districts  ranges  from  ^13*04,  the  lowest  (Bethnal 
Green),  to  ^138*62,  the  highest  (St.  James's,  Westminster). 
We  therefore  take  ^13  as  our  measure  of  common  value,  and 
re-arrange  the  districts,  as  under,  in  the  oider  of  their  relative 
importance  as  ascertained  by  the  number  of  ^13  houses  in 
each  of  the  Districts.     (See  column  4,  p.  46.) 


DISTRICTS   ARRANGED    IN   THEIR    ORDER   ACCORDING   TO   THE 
RELATIVE   NUMBER    OF    HOUSES    OF  ^13    RENTAL. 


Number 
of  £13 
Hoow. 


Districts. 


N'u::.1  -r 
of  £13 

HOOM*. 


City  of  London 162,302 

St. George's,  Hanover  Sq.  82,824 

Marylebone    81,057 

St.  Pancras    71,220 

Islington S9.817 

Paddington    58,334 

Lambeth     49,000 

Kensington    38,548 

St.  James's,  Westminster  35,540 

Lewisham  31.635 

Shoreditch 29.695 

Hackney     28,508 

Wandsworth 27,800 

Poplar 26,486 

Westminster 26,137 

Chelsea 23,066 

Strand 22,062 

Whitechapel  21,271 

Greenwich 21,152 


20.  St.  Giles's  20,954 

2i.  St.  Martin's   20,410 

22.  Camberwell   19,230 

23.  Clerkenwell    18,634 

24.  Newington 18,461 

25.  Limehouse 18,046 

26.  St.  George's-in-the-East  15,147 

27.  Holborn 14.970 

28.  St.  Olave's,  with  Rother- 

hithe  I4>938 

29.  Bethnal  Green  I4.778 

30.  Mile-End  Old  Town    ...  14,696 

31.  St.  Luke's  14.342 

32.  Fulham   13,221 

33.  St.  Saviour's,  Southwark  12,615 

34.  Bermondsey  ".SS8 

35.  St.  John's,  Hampstead...  11,355 

36.  St.  George's,  Southwark  11,230 

37.  Woolwich  6,384 


By  this  table  we  find  that  the  City  occupies  the  very  highest 
place  as  it  regards  the  number  of  houses  ;  that  a  "  house  "  in 
St.  James's,  Westminster,  is  equal  in  rental  to  \o\  houses  in 
Bethnal  Green  ;  a  "  house  "  in  the  City  is  equal  to  io£  houses 
in  Bethnal  Green ;  a  "  house "  in  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields 
is  equal  to  9  such  houses,  and  so  on  for  the  rest  of  the 
Metropolis — "  houses  ■  in  the  Strand,   Marylebone,  Kensing- 


48  DISPLACEMENT   NOT   DIMINUTION. 

ton,   Lewisham  and  Hackney  are  equal  to  6,  5,  4,  3,  and  2 
houses  of  £15  rental  each,  respectively. 

If,  then,  a  "  house  "  is  to  be  used  as  a  common  measure 
of  value  or  of  relative  importance,  we  must  multiply  the 
number  of  houses  in  Hackney  by  2,  in  Lewisham  by  3,  in 
Kensington  by  4,  in  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields  by  9,  in  the  City 
by  1  o£,  and  in  St.  James's,  Westminster,  by  iof,  and  so  with 
the  rest ;  and  we  thus  obtain,  as  above,  a  new  series  whereby 
to  estimate  the  relative  importance  of  the  several  Metropolitan 
Districts  and  to  arrive  at  the  proportion  of  fiscal  representation 
which  should  be  apportioned  to  each.  These  results  are 
shewn  above ;  their  practical  application  will  be  treated  of  in 
a  subsequent  chapter. 

We  have  proved  that  it  is  fallacious  to  treat  a  "  house  "  as 
a  common  measure  of  value,  until  it  shall  have  been  reduced 
by  calculation  to  a  definite  relative  value.  We  now  proceed 
to  deal  with  the  next  fallacy  under  this  head. 

Fallacy  2.  It  is  assumed  that  the  displacement  of  houses 
necessarily  implies  their  destruction  or  diminution  in  value. 

It  is  true  that  the  number  of  houses  in  the  City  has 
decreased ;  but  it  is  untruthful  to  aver  that  the  City  has  conse- 
quently diminished  in  importance.  The  reverse  is  the  case,  and 
that  to  a  very  extraordinary  extent. 

The  17,413  "  inhabited "  houses  in  1811  are  said  to  have 
decreased  to  13,431  in  1861  ;  but  the  rental  of  1811— - 
.£565,243 — has  increased  to  £2,109,935  in  1866.  Therefore, 
the  fewer  houses  of  1866  are  worth  more  by  £1,544,692 
than  the  more  numerous  houses  of  181 1.  The  man  who 
pulls  down  his  barns  to  build  greater  does  not  neces- 
sarily erect  as  many  as  those  removed ;   but  he   may,  if  it 


IMPRovi  ;  *  HON.  49 

pleases  him,  provide  for  a  much  larger  storage  in  fewer 
buildings.     This  is  precisely  what  the  citizens  of    London 

have  been  doing,  as  any  of  them  could  have  informed  the 
matter-of-fact  statisticians.  They  have  erected,  in  half  a 
century,  3,982  houses  less  in  number  than  those  which  have 
been  removed.  But  the  houses  standing  in  181 1  were  worth 
^"32  9s.  per  house,  annual  value;  they  are  now  (1866)  worth 
^£"137  each,  per  annum.  They  were  worth,  to  capitalize  them 
at  twenty-five  years'  purchase,  in  1811,^14,131,075  ;  they  are 
now  (1866)  worth  by  the  same  process,  ^52,748,375.  An 
increase  in  value  of  £"38,617,300  !* 

It  will  be  seen  that  these  figures  do  not  bear  out  the  prima 
fade  case  of  decay  and  desolation  which  had  been  too  hastily 
assumed ;  they  rather  inform  us  that  reduction  in  the  number 
of  houses  in  the  City  does  not  imply  obliteration  but  recon- 
struction— accompanied  by  an  ever-increasing  augmentation 
of  value.  The  report  of  the  House  of  Commons  "  Electoral 
Returns  "  of  the  last  Session,  corroborates  this  view.  It  states 
in  a  foot-note  under  the  head  of  "  City  of  London  :"  "There 
are  619  blocks  of  buildings  let  out  as  offices  and  counting- 
houses."  Some  of  these  blocks  of  offices,  as  Gresham  House, 
East  India  Avenue,  Mincing  Lane  Chambers,  etc.,  contain 
many  hundreds  of  persons,  each,  during  the  active  hours  of 
the  day.  The  last  thirty  years  have  seen  the  City  of  London 
nearly  re-constructed,  by  means  of  public  works  and  private 
enterprise ;  and  another  twenty  years,  at  the  same  rate,  will 
witness  the  completion  of  the  transformation. f 

*  The  rateable  value  of  the  City  (excluding  the  Temple)  is  time,  1876, 
^■3,051,381;  which,  at  twenty-five  years'  purchase,  gives  ^76,284,525, 
which  shows  an  increased  value  since  1S1 1  of  no  less  than  £62,153,450  !  ! 

t  The  Corporation  of  London  have  expended  on  public  works  and 
1  uildings,  and   in  the  formation  and  improvement  of  streets  within  the 

4 


50  UNINHABITED-HOUSE    FALLACY. 

The  picture  presented  is  the  very  reverse  of  that  which 
abused  statistics  would  appear  to  make  out.  Piles  of  build- 
ings— banks,  insurance  and  other  offices — of  elegant  archi- 
tectural elevation  and  symmetrical  proportions,  present  the 
external  aspect  of  palaces;  while  shops  and  stores,  which 
for  solidity  of  construction  and  capacity  of  storage  throw  the 
humbler  buildings  of  the  past  into  the  shade,  are  rising  on 
every  hand.  The  circumstances  of  the  City — and  the  same 
may  be  said  of  Westminster,  with  its  club-houses  and  public 
offices — are  not  very  dissimilar  from  those  which  drew  from 
the  Emperor  Augustus  the  boast — 

"  I  found  Rome  brick,  and  I  left  it  marble." 

So  much  for  the  fallacy  which  confounds  displacement 
with  desolation. 

Fallacy  3.  The  term  "  ^inhabited  house "  of  the  census 
tables,  does  not  mean  "  uninhabited,"  but  something  else. 

If  by  that  term,  so  used,  it  is  intended  to  imply  that  the 
houses  referred  to  were  untenanted  or  unoccupied,  it  is 
clearly  a  misnomer — a  misapplication  of  terms.  An  unin- 
habited house  is  not  chargeable  for  rates  and  taxes ;  but  we 
find  that  nearly  the  whole  of  the  houses  returned  in  the  census 
tables  of  the  City  as  uninhabited — certainly  2,000  of  2,057 — , 


City,  from  1759  (from  which  date  a  separate  account  has  been  kept)  to  1876, 
a  sum  exceeding  q\  millions.  The  entire  lines  of  frontage  from  London 
Bridge  to  Finsbury  Pavement,  and  that  from  Blackfriars  Bridge  to 
Farringdon  Road,  both  intersecting  the  City  from  North  to  South, 
have  been  reconstructed  within  the  above  period.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  line  from  King  William  Street,  westerly  along  Cannon  Street  to 
Saint  Paul's.  Bartholomew  Lane,  Lothbury  and  Threadneedle  Street,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Bank  and  the  Royal  Exchange,  have  been,  in  like 
manner,  re-edified  ;  and  the  Holborn  Viaduct  has  been  constructed. 
Queen  Victoria  Street,  connecting  Blackfriars  Bridge  with  the  Mansion 
House,  has  also  been  formed  by  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works. 


UNINHABITED    HOUSES    OCCUPIED,    AND    RATED.  5 1 

are  claimed  by  the  Parochial,  Clerical  and  Municipal  autho- 
rities as  their  lawful  prey;  and,  which  is  more  remarkable, 
they  are  assessed  to,  and  pay,  Property  and  Income-tax. 
They  are  therefore  known  to  the  fiscal  authorities  of  the 
Government  as  inhabited,  whilst  they  are  treated  by  the  regis- 
tration authorities  of  the  Government  as  "uninhabited"  They 
are,  moreover,  well  known  to  be  full  of  valuable  property,  and 
to  be  crowded  with  inhabitants  during  the  active  hours  of  the 
day.  Every  house,  we  have  a  right  to  contend,  is  occupied 
which  has  its  tenant-occupier — whether  he  uses  it  as  a  dormi- 
tory, a  workshop  or  a  counting-house.  Even  a  pig- stye, 
though  its  pig  may  have  gone  out  for  the  night,  has  its  tenant- 
occupier — as  any  Poor  Rate  collector  would  inform  us. 

The  fact  is,  that  the  houses  referred  to  are  occupied  or 
inhabited  in  every  sense  of  the  word ;  but  their  owners  prefer 
to  leave  them  at  night  without  any  person  in  charge,  trusting 
to  the  vigilance  of  the  City  Police,  and  setting  the  risks  of 
so  doing  against  the  cost  and  risks  of  keeping  a  night  watch- 
man or  other  servant  on  the  premises. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that,  since  the  establishment  of  the 
present  City  force,  a  large  increase  of  houses,  so  left,  has  taken 
place,  shewing  the  growing  confidence  in  the  protection 
afforded  by  the  Municipal  guardians  of  the  peace. 

There  is  no  parallel  to  this  fact  elsewhere — that  2,000 
houses  (a  number  exceeding  the  whole  number  of  houses  in 
many  of  our  second-class  cities),  mostly  containing  property 
of  immense  value,  and  which  would,  under  other  circum- 
stances, be  in  the  care  and  custody  of  17,000  persons  (8 \  to 
a  house),  are  abandoned  at  night  to  the  sole  charge  of  the 
passing  policeman. 


"52  HOW   DESCRIBED    BY   THE    REGISTRAR-GENERAL. 

And  the  saving  to  the  citizens  by  this  practice  is  of 
considerable  importance.  Assuming  that  ^75  per  annum 
would  be  the  average  cost  of  a  person  of  unimpeachable 
character  left  in  charge — to  include  salary,  or  wages,  fire  and 
candle — the  saving  upon,  say  2,000  houses,  would  be  ^15 0,000 
per  annum — a  sum  thrice  the  annual  cost  of  the  City  Police 
force. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  observe  that  the  figures  of  the 
Registrar-General  are  universally,  and  justly  so,  relied  upon 
for  accuracy  and  fairness.  There  appears,  however,  to  have 
been  an  unfortunate  exceptional  treatment  of  the  subject  of 
^inhabited  houses,  as  it  regards  the  City  of  London.  The 
census  returns  for  the  whole  City  give  2,057  of  such  houses  ; 
but  a  foot-note  explains,  that  in  the  central  district  alone, 
"  at  least  1,200  or  1,300  houses  are  occupied  during  the  day,  but 
left  tenantless  at  night,  under  the  general  surveillance  of  the 
police."*  Now,  as  it  appears,  on  the  authority  of  the  census 
officials  themselves,  that  the  great  majority  of  such  houses 
were  "occupied"  and  that  only  the  exceptional  minority 
were  unoccupied,  it  would  seem  to  have  been  more  in 
conformity  with  established  usage,  and  certainly  less  per- 
plexing to  statisticians,  if  that,  which  appears  to  be  the  rule, 
had  been  set  forth  in  the  tables,  and  the  exceptions  had  been 
dealt  with  in  the  foot-note.  If  this  treatment  of  the  subject 
had  been  adopted,  there  would  not  have  been  afforded  so 
much  opportunity  for  mis-statement,  as  to  the  increasing 
number  of  tenantless  houses  within  the  City. 

We  have  shewn,  then,  under  three  heads,  that  the  number 


Census  Tables,  1861.     Div.  I.,  p.  204. 


DECADENCE   OF   THE    CI  IV    PURELY  IMAGINARY.  53 

of  houses,  as  stated  in  the  census  returns,  does  not  afford 
reliable  data  as  to  the  relative  importance  of  the  City  of 
London  to  the  rest  of  the  Metropolis ;  that,  as  it  regards  the 
number  of  houses  of  a  specified  value,  the  City  stands  rela- 
tively at  the  head  of  the  districts  of  the  Metropolis ;  that  the 
alleged  decadence  and  desolation  of  the  City  are  purely 
imaginary ;  and  that  a  great — indeed,  an  unprecedented — 
advance  is  taking  place  in  all  that  constitutes  wealth,  value, 
and  rateable  position.  Incidentally,  we  have  obtained  in- 
formation as  to  the  relative  values  of  houses  within  the 
Metropolis,  which  we  shall  turn  to  account  in  a  subsequent 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    RELATIVE    IMPORTANCE    OF    THE    CITY — DETERMINED     BY 

its  RATEABLE  VALUE,  and  the  magnitude  of  its 
TRADE  and  COMMERCE. 

THE  City  of  London  stands  at  the  head  of  the  several 
districts  of  the  Metropolis,  as  it  regards  rateable  value. 
The  rateable  annual  value,  as  settled  by  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works  for  the  main-drainage  rate  for  1866,  fixes  its 
rental  at  £2,109,935.  The  rental  for  the  whole  Metropolis  is 
£15,252,767.  The  rental,  therefore,  of  the  City  of  London 
is  nearly  one-seventh  of  that  of  the  whole  Metropolis. 

The  rateable  value  of  the  City  of  London  is  continually  on 
the  increase.  Subsequently  to  181 1,  the  rateable  value  increased 
from  ,£565,243  to  £1,203,466  in  1856 — the  year  of  the  first 
assessment  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works — being  an 
increase  of  £638,223,  or  at  the  average  rate  of  £"14,182  per 
annum.  Since  1856,  we  have  the  opportunity  of  shewing  the 
annual  rate  of  increase  in  relation  to  the  Metropolis.  We 
find  that,  whilst  the  City  has  increased  its  rental  from 
£1,203,466  in  1856,  to  £2,109,935  in  1866,  the  whole  Metro- 
polis  has    only   increased    from    £11,283,663    in    1856,    to 

See  note,  p.  43,  for  further  increase  to  1876. 


INCREASE    IN    CITY'S    RATEABLE   VALUE.  55 

^"15,252,767  in  1866;  and  we  consequently  arrive  at  the  second 
conclusion — that  the  City  of  London  has,  since  1856,  increased 
in  rateable  value  in  a  much  greater  degree  than  the  whole  of 
the  Metropolis.  For,  the  City  has  increased  its  rental  75*31 
per  cent,  while  the  whole  Metropolis,  including  the  City,  has 
only  increased  at  the  rate  of  35*17  per  cent. — the  excess  in 
favour  of  the  City  being  40-14  per  cent. 

If  the  rateable  value  of  the  City  be  compared  with  that 
of  the  Metropolis,  omitting  the  City,  the  increase  in  the  rate- 
able value  of  the  City  will  be  more  apparent.  The  increase 
in  value  of  the  whole  Metropolis,  between  1856  and  1866, 
was  ^3,969,104;  from  this  deduct  ^906,469,  the  increase  in 
the  City,  and  the  net  increase  in  the  value  of  the  Metropolitan 
rental  will  be  seen  to  be  ^3, 062, 635.  The  increase  of  the 
City  to  that  of  the  rest  of  the  Metropolis  will,  therefore,  be  as 
75*31  per  cent,  is  to  30*38  per  cent. — a  ratio  of  increase  in 
favour  of  the  City  of  44*93  {say  45)  per  cent,  in  a  period  of  ten 
years. 

It  should  be  stated,  however,  that  several  important  dis- 
tricts of  the  Metropolis  have  not  been  re-assessed  since  the 
year  1865,  and  others,  on  the  south  of  the  Thames,  since 
the  year  1861.  Some  allowance  by  way  of  addition  must 
therefore  be  made  to  the  ratio  of  increase  in  the  rateable  value 
of  the  Metropolitan  districts ;  but  with  all  this  allowance,  an 
enormous  increase  in  the  ratio  of  the  augmented  value  of  the 
City,  will  be  undoubtedly  shewn. 

It  appears  that,  not  only  has  a  considerable  increase  of 
Rateable  value  taken  place  within  the  City,  but  testing  the 
amount  of  increase  at  various  periods,  we  find,  further,  that 
an  augmenting  ratio  of  increase  is  constantly  taking  place — 
as  the  following  figures  will  demonstrate  : — 


56 


RATIOS    OF    INCREASE    SINCE    1 77 1. 


City's 

Rateable 

Value. 

Increase. 

Eatio  of  Increase 
per  cent. 

In  Period. 

Per  Annum. 

In 

the  year  1771* 

£ 

457.701 

£ 

Years 

1801* 

507.372 

49.671 

30 

io-8 

•36 

1831* 

792,904 

285,532 

30  ' 

56'2 

1* 

i86if    ... 

1,279,887 

486,983 

30 

61 -4 

2  0 

1866+    ... 

2.109,935 

830,048 

5 

64-8 

129 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  increase  in  the  first  period  of 
30  years  was  at  the  rate  of  '$6  per  cent,  per  annum  ;  in  the 
second  period,  at  the  rate  of  i  '8  per  cent,  per  annum ;  in  the 
third  period,  at  the  rate  of  over  2  per  cent,  per  annum  j  while 
in  the  latter  period  of  5  years  the  increase  is  at  the  rate  of 
1 2  -9  per  cent,  per  annum,  or  nearly  65  per  cent,  for  a  period  of 
5  years. 

This  does  not  look  like  the  depopulation  of  the  City  at  an 
early  date,  as  some  have  been  assuming ;  nor  does  it  bear  out 
the  conclusions  of  official  blue-books  as  to  the  waning  of  the 
City  in  its  relative  importance  to  the  Metropolis. 

Had  we  inverted  the  order  of  our  topics  in  this  chapter, 
there  would  have  been  little  occasion  to  adduce  evidence  of 
the  rising  value  of  the  City's  rateable  property.  That  value 
is  the  inevitable  effect  of  a  cause  to  which  we  shall  now 
advert— the  vastness  of  the  Trade  and  Commerce  of  the  City  of 
London. 


*  From  Second  Report,  Commissioners  of  the  Municipal  Corporations, 
[837,  p.  176. 

f  Return  of  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  19th  October,  1866. 


THE    CONSEQUENXES    OF    INCREASED  CE.  57 

The  City  is  to  a  great  extent,  but  not  at  all  exclusive! 
a  place  of  Trade — the  market  to  which  resort,  daily  and  every 
day,  some  700,000  persons — all  of  whom,  whatever  may  be 
their  object  in  visiting  the  City,  contribute  more  or  less 
humbly  or  largely  to  its  trade,  by  supplying  within  its  limits, 
the  wants  of  themselves  and  their  families  as  it  regards  many 
of  the  necessities  or  luxuries  of  life. 

It  is,  further,  the  central  and  chief  market  in  the  Metro- 
polis for  provisions.  Billingsgate  purveys  for  all  London 
in  the  matter  of  fish,  and  the  vans,  which  now  bring  from 
the  railways  three-fourths  of  all  the  food  of  this  class 
(formerly  conveyed  by  water-carriage),  constitute  one  of  the 
most  formidable  hindrances  to  locomotion  during  certain 
hours  of  the  day.  Newgate*  and  Leadenhall  markets  are,  in 
their  way,  unequalled  in  the  supply  of  dead-meat,  poultry, 
game  and  other  requisites  of  the  table ;  and  the  vast  transac- 
tions connected  with  these  markets  contribute  no  inconsider- 
able amount  to  the  trade  of  the  City.  Within  its  limits  also 
are  the  only  markets  for  Corn  and  Coal  within  the  Metropolis. 
The  statistics  of  these  varied  interests  would  form  an  interesting 
chapter ;  but  they  must  be  passed  by,  for,  important  as  they 
are,  they  occupy  only  a  subordinate  place  in  relation  to  the 
City  of  London. 

It  is  the  Commerce  of  London — its  traffic  with  foreign  and 
distant  parts,  its  interchange  of  commodities  with  every 
quarter  of  the  globe,  which  makes  the  City  what  it  is — the 
busiest,  most  enterprising  and  most  wealthy  emporium  of 
either  ancient  or  modern  times. 

Unaided  by  figures,  it  would  be  impossible  to  convey  an 


*  Removed   since    1866 ;   but  the  much  larger   "  Central   Meat  and 
Poultry  Markets  "  at  Smithfield  supply  its  place. 


58  CUSTOMS'   DUTIES   OF   LONDON 

adequate  or  accurate  idea  of  the  vastness  to  which  the  Com- 
mercial and  Monied  interests  of  the  City  have  attained.  As 
Tyre,  of  old,  was  seated  at  the  point  of  confluence  of  the 
merchandise  of  three  continents,  so,  upon  the  shores  of  the 
Thames,  converge  the  commerce  and  commodities  of  two 
hemispheres ;  or  rather  we  should  say,  upon  its  Northern 
shore,  for  to  the  City  tends,  and  from  its  limits  emanate, 
almost  without  exception,  the  Commerce  of  the  Metropolis. 

This  is  the  specialty  of  the  City  of  London.  Its  Trade  is 
enormous,  but  it  shares  it  with  other  districts  of  London ;  its 
population  and  rateable  value,  in  proportion  to  area,  are 
unequalled  elsewhere,  but  all  these  conditions  of  magnitude, 
"  pale  their  ineffectual  fires  "  in  the  presence  of  the  vastness  of 
its  Commercial  enterprise. 

A  glimpse  at  the  following  tables,  compiled  from  the  pub- 
lished Reports  of  the  Customs'  Commissioners,  will  render 
further  arguments  unnecessary  on  this  head.  Great  as  are 
the  commercial  transactions  of  the  other  ports  of  the  Empire, 
London  swallows  up  the  whole  of  them — tested  by  the  amount 
of  Customs'  Duties  which  her  Commerce  contributes. 

Ports.  Amount  of  Customs'  Duties  (1864). 

£  £ 

London   11,491,412 

Liverpool   2,893,445^ 

Other  Ports  in  England...  3,239,202  / 

Ports  in  Scotland  2,826,8271  '       '79 

Ports  in  Ireland 2,047,324/ 

Excess  of  London,  in  1864,  over  all  the 

ports  of  the  Empire    ^484,614 


EXCEED  THOSE  OF  THE  REST  OF  THE  KINGDOM.    59 

Receipt  of  Customs  in  the  United  Kingdom  ;  Lon 
contrasted  with  all  other  Ports — 1856  to  1864. 

All  Ports  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  London  alone. 

£  £ 

1856 24,206,844 12,287,529 

l857 22,956,171 11,465,989 

1858 24,155,852 12,332,061 

1859 25,065,066 12,740,242 

i860 23,165,764 11,781,819 

1861 23,657,513 n,9°5»555 

1862 23,993,546 12,156,115 

1863 23,588,932 11,974,397 

1864 22,498,211 11,491,412 


Aggregate ^213,287,899 ^108,134,119 


Annual  Average  ^23,698,655 ^12,014,902 


Port  of  London,  annually ;£i 2,014,902 

All  other  Ports,  annually    11,683,753 


Average  Annual  excess  of  London, 
over  the  aggregate  of  all  the  other 
Ports  of  the  Empire   ;£33I>I49 


The  whole  of  the  enormous  Commerce  which  contributes 
the  above  average  of  ;£i  2,000,000  Customs'  Duties  annually, 
is  connected  locally  (excepting  an  amount  quite  unappreciable) 
with  the  City  of  London. 

That  the  Mercantile  greatness  of  the  City  of  London  is 
not  consequent  upon  the  decay  of  commerce  elsewhere — 
but  that  it  is  inherent  to  the  growing  importance  of  the  City 
and  port  of  London,  will  be  apparent  by  the  following  table, 
shewing  the  growth  of  commerce  at  various  ports  of  England. 


6o 


PROFITS   OF   TRADE   OF   CITY. 


The  rise  of  Ports  in  England,*  as  shewn  by  Customs' 
Duties  paid  in  the  years  1780  and  1864  respectively. 


Ports. 

17804 

1864. 

Increase. 

Liverpool    

£ 

59,419 

18,966 

5,123 

13,183 

4,541 

7,100 

147,834- 
4,177 

13,121 
991 

13,710 

49,384 
2,553 

16,136 
4,410 

12,584 

1 

2,893,445 

335,750 

67,150 

178,738 

36,538 

64,299 

1,209,690 

31,948 

109,692 

6,920 

88,880 

255,769 

9,875 

64,188 

13,830 
23,700 

48  fold 
18  fold 
13  fold 
13  fold 

8  fold 

9  fold 
8  fold 
8  fold 
8  fold 
7  fold 
7  fold 
5  fold 
4  fold 
4  fold 
3  fold 
2  fold 

Newark  

Chester    

Plymouth    

Boston 

Rochester    

Bristol 

Ipswich   

Exeter 

Bridgewater    

Southampton 

Hull     

Weymouth 

Whitehaven    

Colchester  

Portsmouth 

The  local  Trade  and  Commerce  of  the  City  may  be 
measured,  relatively  to  the  Metropolis,  by  another  method. 

The  Income-tax  returns,  under  Schedule  D,  afford  an 
insight  into  the  relative  importance  of  the  several  districts  of 
the  Metropolis,  measured  by  their  profits  of  trade.  The 
Metropolis  —  subdivided  upon  a  different  arrangement  for 
every  fiscal  and  other  purpose — remains,  as  it  regards  the 
Inland  Revenue,  divisible  into  the  ancient  Cities  of  London 
and  Westminster,  the  Borough  of  Southwark  and  the  several 
Hundreds  which  surround  them.  By  the  courtesy  of  the 
Commissioners  of  Inland  Revenue  we  are  enabled  to  place  the 
Trading  profits  of  the  City  in  contrast  with  those  of  the  other 


*  The  rise  of  Scotch  and  Irish  ports  not  obtainable  for  the  same  interval, 
f  MSS.  Brit.  Mus.,  presented  by  Sir  W.  Musgrave,  Bart. 


PROFITS  OF  TRADE  GREATEST    IN    THE   CITY.  61 

divisions  of  the  Metropolis,  for  the  year  1865 — the  last  com- 
plete year  obtainable.     The  following  are  the  results — 

Amount  of  Profits  charged  to  Income-Tax  under 
Schedule  D.*— 1865. 

Divisions  of  the  Metropolis.  Amounts. 

£ 

The  City  of  London  23,053,600 

The  Inns  of  Courtf    922,828 

The  City  of  Westminster    5>273>°99 

Southwark    649,433 

Bloomsbury,  Finsbury  and  Holborn 4,052,915 

Kensington  837,246 

Marylebone 1,253,898 

Tower  Divisions  2,736,929 

Brixton,      Four      Divisions      (including 

Lambeth) 2,411,113 

Blackheath  (including  Greenwich) 834,8 1 7 

Total  ^42,025,878 

The  City  of  London ^23,053,600 

The  rest  of  the  Metropolis  18,972,278 

Excess  of  profits  of  the  City  over  all 

the  rest  of  Metropolis   ^4,081,322 


*  This  Schedule  does  not  include  dividends  on  public  stocks  and  funds, 
nor  profits  of  mines,  railways,  docks,  etc.  ;  which  are  charged  under  other 
schedules. 

f  Chiefly  within  the  Liberties  of  the  City. 


62  TONNAGE   OF   SHIPPING. 

Another  method  of  shewing  the  relative  importance  of  the 
City's  Trade  and  Commerce,  consists  in  obtaining  the  amount 
and  tonnage  of  the  shipping  frequenting  the  port  of  London. 
In  this  respect,  the  East  of  London  divides  with  the  City  the 
importance  which  the  shipping  interest  confers  on  the 
Metropolis — the  docks  being  situated  in  the  former  region, 
whilst  the  commerce,  capital  and  enterprise  which  sustain 
and  employ  the  shipping,  belong  almost  exclusively  to  the 
City  proper. 


The  annexed  table  of  the  Number  and  Tonnage  of  Ships, 
British  and  Foreign,  entered  inwards  and  outwards,  in  London 
and  the  other  ports  of  England  and  Wales,*  in  the  year 
1865,  shews  London  to  be  at  the  head  of  all  other  ports,  as  it 
regards  the  amount  of  its  shipping  interest. f  (Vide  tabular 
folding  sheet  annexed.) 


We  extract  from  that  table  the  following  list  of  the 
Tonnages  of  the  larger  Ports — i.e.,  of  Ports  returning  over 
one  million  tons  in  1865  : — 


*  From  Return  to  House  of  Commons,  29th  May,  Session  1866. 

t  How  is  it,  that  in  the  return  alluded  to,  London  is  invariably  placed 
out  of  the  alphabetical  order,  which  determines  the  places  of  all  other  ports 
in  England  and  Wales  ?  Why  is  it  also  placed  at  the  foot  of  a  list  which 
proclaims  that  it  stands  first  in  relative  importance  ?  Has  the  Board  of 
Trade  become  a  convert  to  the  notion,  that  Kensington  has  superseded 
London  City  as  it  regards  amount  and  tonnage  of  its  shipping?  We 
commend  the  subject  to  Messrs.  Rothschild,  Crawford  and  Goschen, 
commercial  members  for  the  decayed  City,  in  Parliament. 


LONDON  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  PORTS.         63 

Ports.  Tons. 

Port  of  London   1 0,46 1,195 

Liverpool    8,235,152 

„      Newcastle    4,978,003 

„       Sunderland 2,836,100 

Cardiff 2,465,215 

„       Hull     1,922,998 

„       Hartlepool 1,513,934 

„       Swansea  1,494,836 

„       Bristol 1,204,248 

„       Southampton  1,084,369 

„       Newport 1,037,154 

It  will  be  observed  that  London  occupies  the  highest 
position  of  any  port,  by  over  2,200,000  tons  of  Shipping. 

Whether,  therefore,  we  test  the  relative  importance  of  the 
City  by.  its  Rateable  value  or  by  its  Trade  and  Commerce, 
whether  we  measure  the  latter  by  the  amount  of  Customs' 
Duties  paid,  the  Profits  of  Trade  or  the  Tonnage  of  Shipping, 
we  find  the  City  and  its  interests  occupying,  not  only  the 
foremost  place  in  the  Metropolis,  but  the  highest  position  in 
the  United  Kingdom. 


To    recapitulate. — We     have     shewn    in    the    preceding 
chapters  by  a  fair  application  of  statistics  : 

1.  That  the   City   stands    at    the    head    of   the    several 
districts  of  the  Metropolis,  as  it  regards  Population. 


64  RECAPITULATION. 

2.  That  it  stands  at  the  head  of  every  other  district  of 

the  Metropolis — as  it  regards  its  number  of  Houses — 
measuring  them  by  a  common  and  uniform  standard. 

3.  That  it  is  also  at  the  head,  as  it  regards  the  amount 

of  its  Taxable  Rental. 

4.  That  such  Rental  is  equal  to  about  one-seventh  of  that 

of  the  whole  Metropolis. 

5.  That  such   Rental   has   increased   in   a   much   greater 

ratio  than  that  of  the  rest  of  the  Metropolis. 

6.  That    the    value    of    the    rateable    property    of    the 

City  has  increased — between  181 1  and  1866 — no  less 
a  sum  than  thirty-eight  millions  six  hundred  thousand 
pounds  /• 

7.  That  the  amount  of  Customs'  Duties  paid  in  the  Port 

of  London,  has,  for  many  years  past,  exceeded  the 
sum  paid,  in  the  aggregate,  by  every  other  port  in 
England,  Wales,  Scotland  and  Ireland. 

8.  That  the  amount  of  the  Profits  of  Trade  of  the  City 

exceeds,  by  ^£4,000,000  annually,  those  of  the  rest  of 
the  Metropolis. 

9.  And,  that  the  amount  of  the  Tonnage  of  the  Shipping 

of  the  port  of  London  far  exceeds  that  of  any  other 
port  in  the  Empire. 


And  this  is  the  City  whose  population  is  "year  by  year 
decreasing,"  and  which  is  soon  to  be  eclipsed  by  the  increasing 
glories  of  Kensington — as  the  stars  are  extinguished  by  the 
rising  sun.  This  is  the  City,  "  the  population  of  which  would, 
certainly,  not  entitle  it  to  stand  alone." 

*  Or,  between  181 1  and  1876,  no  less  a  sum  than  £62,153,450  !  ! 


THE   CITY    "  STANDS   ALONE."  65 

It  does  "  stand  alone,"  notwithstanding  j  and  in  respect  of 
population,  houses,  rental,  trade,  commerce,  shipping  and 
relative  importance,  "  stands  alone  " — second  to  no  District  of 
the  Metropolis,  to  no  City  or  Town  of  the  Empire. 

That  it  "  stands  alone  "  in  unenviable  criminal  notoriety  is 
also  asserted  by  the  highest  "  authority  "  of  the  Metropolitan 
Police — to  such  an  extent  that  all  its  registered  residents 
should,  long  ere  this,  have  fallen  victims  to  the  knife  of  the 
assassin.  Whether  this  be  as  stated,  we  must  endeavour  to 
ascertain  in  the  succeeding  chapter. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CRIME    IN   THE   CITY   AND   THE   METROPOLIS — THE   COST   AND 
EFFICIENCY  OF  THE  CITY  AND  METROPOLITAN  POLICE  FORCES. 

THE  City  of  London,  as  we  have  shewn,  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  Districts  of  the  Metropolis  as  it  regards 
population  to  area — it  is  first  in  respect  of  the  number  of 
houses  of  a  specified  rateable  value — it  occupies  the  highest 
position,  beyond  all  comparison,  as  it  regards  the  amount  of  its 
commerce,  and  is  at  the  head  also  in  respect  of  its  profits  of 
trade  j  its  rateable  value  is  in  advance  of  that  of  any  other 
Metropolitan  district,  and  is  progressing  at  a  ratio  greater  than 
the  increase  elsewhere.  The  real-property  value  of  the  City 
has  increased,  as  we  have  proved,  between  1811  and  1866, 
from  Fourteen  to  Fifty-two  and  three-quarters  millions  !  * 

All  this  would,  prima  facie,  indicate  sound  commercial 
prosperity,  and  suggest  ample  and  remunerative  employment 
for  capital  and  labour — and  the  consequent  diminution  of 
temptation  to  crime.  Especially  would  this  be  assumed  to 
be  the  case,  if  it  were  shewn  that,  as  it  regards  religious  and 
moral  appliances,  the  City  stands  unquestionably  at  the  head 
in  these  respects  also,  when  compared  with  the  other  districts 
of  London. 

*  Or.  between  18 11  and  1876,  from  Fourteen  to  over  Seventy -six  Millions  !  I 
( Vide  note,  p.  49. ) 


RELIGIOUS   AND    EDUCATIONAL   ADVANTAGES.  67 

The  City — about  one  square  mile  in  area — possesses  the 
following  Religious  ahd  moral  advantages,  which  have  been 
ascertained  by  actual  enumeration  : — 


Churches,  Officiating 

Chapels  and  Clergy  and 

Synagogues.  Ministers. 

The  Cathedral  (with  which  78  officials 

are    connected,    but    of    whom, 

say,  6  are  employed  in  the  daily 

service)  ...  ...  ...  1  6 

Parish  Churches  ...  ...  ...         70  

Rectors,  Vicars,  and  Incumbents      74 

Curates  and  Assistants        ...  ...         ...  33 

Lecturers  ...  ...  ...         ...  29 

Chapels     of     various     denominations 

and  Synagogues  ...  ...         33  

Ministers,  various  ...  ...         ...  34 

Roman  Catholic  and  Greek  Priests  ...  . .  6 

Jewish  Rabbis,  English  and  Foreign         ...  9 

Total    Churches,    Chapels  and 

Synagogues  ...  ...       104        

Total  officiating  Clergy,  Min- 
isters and  others  ...             ...         ...         191 


We  find,  then,  within  the  limited  area  of  the  City,  one 
hundred  and  four  buildings,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety-one 
persons  exclusively  devoted  to  religious  and  moral  instruction ; 
and,  as  we  are  informed  and  believe,  that  there  is  at  least  one 
school — National,  British  or  Denominational — connected  with 
each  parish  or  place  of  worship,  and  as  moreover  there  are 
four  large  public  schools  within  the  City — to  wit,  the  Blue 
Coat,  St.  Paul's,  the  City  of  London  and  the  Merchant 
Taylors'  (containing  in  all  1,858  scholars) — it  will  not  be 
denied  that  the  City  surpasses  any  district  of  similar  area 
as  it  regards  religious  and  educational  advantages. 


68  CRIMINALITY   OF   THE   CITIZENS. 

How  are  we  startled  then,  to  be  informed  that  the  City  of 
London,  under  the  apparently  satisfactory  condition  which  the 
facts  above  stated  disclose,  is  nevertheless  a  hot-bed  of  crime — 
that  its  inhabitants  have  become  so  morally  depraved  that  the 
figures  of  the  Home  Secretary's  "Judicial  Statistics"  as  it 
regards  the  City,  being  placed  before  an  eminent  Actuary,  he 
is  constrained  to  declare  that  every  adult  of  the  population 
must,  on  the  average,  have  been  charged  with  crime  at  least 
thrice  in  the  course  of  his  or  her  natural  life. 

Sir  Richard  Mayne,  Chief  Commissioner  of  the  Metro- 
politan Police,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Sir  George  Grey, 
confirms  this  lamentable  state  of  things,  and  attributes  it  to 
the  inefficiency  of  the  City  Police  force.  He  tells  us  "  Crimes 
in  the  City  are  upwards  of  156  per  cent,  higher  than  in  the 
Metropolitan  district."  Again  he  says,  testing  the  matter  by 
another  method,  "  Crimes  in  the  City  are  upwards  of  208  per 
cent,  higher  than  in  the  Metropolitan  district."  Again, 
"  Crimes  are  in  the  City  as  3  ;  in  the  Metropolitan  district  as  1." 
As  it  regards  the  graver  crimes — attempts  to  murder,  and 
stabbing  with  intent,  etc., — he  makes  the  following  appalling 
statement,  "  In  the  City  the  numbers  are  in  the  ratio  of  1  to 
2  6  8,  or  271  per  cent,  of  the  population  !  " 

We  could  proceed  further,  but  this  must  suffice  for  our 
present  purpose,  to  shew  that,  upon  high  authority,  crime  of  the 
most  alarmingly  flagrant  character  is  rampant  in  the  City — 
side  by  side  with  apparent  prosperity,  full  employment  of  the 
people,  remunerative  Trade  and  Commerce,  and  most  abun- 
dant Religious,  Moral  and  Educational  advantages. 

Here  we  are,  for  the  third  time,  involved  in  difficulties  and 
perplexities  which  are  apparently  insoluble ;  and  we  can  only 


SIR    RICHARD    MAYNK's    UTTER    OF    1 863.  69 

extricate  ourselves  by  assuming  that  the  mere  matter-of-fact 
statisticians  have  been  at  their  work  again;  and  that,  as  is 
their  wont,  they  have  pinned  their  faith  on  the  assumed 
omnipotence  of  figures  to  solve  every  problem,  irrespective  of 
logical  deduction,  common  observation  and  common  sense. 

It  is  discreditable  to  the  age  in  which  we  live,  to  the  boasted 
advance  of  education  amongst  us,  and  to  the  assumed  intel- 
ligence of  our  public  men,  to  find  statements  so  monstrous  as 
those  which  we  have  just  quoted,  made  on  official  authority ; 
and  that,  not  hastily  or  unguardedly,  but  after  mature  reflection, 
and  when  three  years  have  actually  passed  since  their  original 
promulgation.  It  is  humiliating  to  discover  that  such  state- 
ments have  been  seriously  submitted  to  a  Select  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  not  only  so,  but  entertained  by 
them  with  all  gravity,  indorsed  by  their  authority,  submitted 
to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  printed  "  by  Order  "  of  that 
Honourable  House. 

The  statements  quoted  formed  part  of  a  letter,  dated 
June  1,  1863,  which  Sir  Richard  Mayne  addressed  to  Sir 
George  Grey,  as  Home  Secretary.  In  the  course  of  the 
summer  of  1863  it  found  its  way  into  the  columns  of  the 
newspapers,  and  after  a  little  good-natured  criticism  of  its 
contents,  and  a  few  laughs  over  its  obvious  mistakes,  it  was 
not  heard  of  until  recently,  when  it,  or  rather  an  extract  from 
it,  appeared  within  the  protecting  blue  covers  of  the  Second 
Report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  "  Metropolitan  Local 
Government  and  Taxation" — a  Committee  presided  over  by 
a  gentleman,  usually  so  well  informed  as  the  Hon.  Member 
for  the  Tower  Hamlets. 

It    made    its    re-appearance    in    this   wise : — Mr.    Edwin 


/O  MR.    EDWIN    CHAD  WICK  : 

Chadwick  being  under  examination  before  the  Committee 
above  alluded  to,  on  the  general  subject  of  Metropolitan 
Administration  and  Taxation,  expressed  an  opinion  very 
unfavourable  to  the  efficiency  and  economy  of  the  City  Police 
Force ;  and  in  reply  to  the  Question  (No.  6,596)  "  Do  you  state 
your  opinion  from  any  statistics  which  you  have  obtained  upon 
the  subject  ? "  he  said,  "  There  was  a  very  decided  statement 
made  by  Sir  Richaad  Mayne  which  exhibited  statistics  on  the 
subject ;  and  I  know,  if  Sir  Richard  Mayne  gives  statistics, 
that  I  can  rely  upon  them."  He  then  handed  in  the  extract 
of  Sir  Richard  Mayne's  letter,  to  which  we  have  referred,  and 
thus  unkindly  and  officiously  unearthed  the  allegations,  which 
hitherto  the  good  sense  of  the  late  Home  Secretary  had  permit- 
ted to  remain  within  the  innermost  recesses  of  his  department. 

The  indirect  and  circumlocutory  manner  in  which  evidence 
so  serious  was  introduced  to  the  Committee  is  very  remark- 
able, and  we  hope  unusual.  We  should  have  supposed  that 
testimony,  as  to  the  cost  and  efficiency  of  the  Police,  would 
have  been  sought  at  the  mouth  of  a  person  possessing  some 
little  experience  gathered  in  connection  with  a  similar  force  ; 
or,  at  all  events,  that  matters  so  serious  as  to  involve  a  charge 
against  every  inhabitant  of  the  City  of  having  been  guilty  of 
the  gravest  crimes  known  to  the  law,  would  have  been  obtained 
from  a  witness  in  some  way  personally  acquainted  with  the 
facts  spoken  of — or  resident  within  or  familiar  with  the  City — 
or  connected,  in  some  respects,  with  its  Courts  of  Criminal 
Judicature,  its  prisons,  or  its  scaffold.  But  no !  A  trifling 
matter  of  a  few  thousand  attempts  to  murder,  within  the 
twelve  months,  is  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  require  direct 
personal  testimony  or  individual  cognizance  of  the  facts.  It 
is   spoken   of  by  the  witness,  evidently  to  his   own  perfect 


HIS   KNOWLEDGE  OF   POUCB    MATTERS.  71 

satisfaction,  and,  apparently,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Sel 
Committee.  "/  knaiu?  says  the  witness,  "that  (rime  ifl 
greater  and  detection  less  frequent  in  the  City  than  in  the 
rest  of  the  Metropolis."  "  I  know  if  Sir  Richard  gives 
statistics,  that  I  can  rely  upon  them ; "  but  why  all  this  indirect 
evidence  as  to  what  is  known  about  another's  credibility? 
It  reminds  us  of — 

11 1  know  a  man,  who  knows  another, 
Who  knew  the  very  party's  brother  ; " 

for,  when  pressed  for  the  source  of  his  knowledge,  the  witness 
fell  back  upon  something  which  he  must  have  cut  from  a 
newspaper,  and  which  once,  in  an  unguarded  moment,  Sir 
Richard  Mayne  had  addressed  to  Sir  George  Grey.  There 
was  obtained  from  the  witness  no  evidence  of  any  personal 
knowledge  whatever  as  to  the  very  grave,  scandalous — and  we 
may  add  libellous — charges  which  were  submitted  to  the  Select 
Committee. 

It  would  thus  appear  that  Sir  Richard  Mayne  has  been 
unkindly  used  in  this  respect.  His  letter,  written  in  1863, 
under  circumstances  of  haste  and  excitement,  was  seen  upon 
calmer  reflection,  to  be  unsuited  for  publication ;  and  he  is 
now  placed  in  an  unfavourable  position  by  its  resuscitation, 
uncorrected  and  unrevised,  through  the  officious  intervention 
of  Mr.  Edwin  Chad  wick — a  gentleman  entirely  unconnected 
with  the  Police  organization. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  that  Sir  George  Grey,  who 
kept  the  letter,  all  these  years,  in  his  bureau,  and  his  Under- 
Secretaries  who  sat  on  the  Select  Committee,  were  unaware  of 
its  contents ;  and  we  should  rather  assume  that  they  had  agreed 
to  suppress  it  as  a  document  which   it   was   inexpedient   to 


72  SUPPRESSION   OF   THE   LETTER. 

publish  ;  if  we  concluded  otherwise,  we  should  convict  them  of 
grave  dereliction  of  duty.  For,  if  the  statements  contained  in 
the  letter,  and  which  we  have  quoted,  were  well  founded,  any 
officer  of  the  Crown  charged  with  the  maintenance  and  vin- 
dication of  law  and  order,  and  with  the  protection  of  life, 
would  most  seriously  compromise  himself  by  concealing,  for  so 
long  a  period,  so  frightful  a  state  of  crime  as  that  which  was 
asserted  in  1863  to  exist  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Queen's 
dominions — a  condition  of  criminality  so  frightful,  if  correctly 
stated,  that  long  ere  this,  the  whole  registered  population  of 
the  City  must  have  perished  either  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin 
or  by  that  of  the  hangman. 

We  are  compelled  therefore  to  conclude  that  the  late 
Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home  Department  suppressed  the 
letter  in  question,  and  that  Sir  Richard  Mayne  concurred  with 
him  in  the  propriety  of  thus  putting  out  of  sight  an  un- 
fortunate and  untimely  production,  that  the  "concealment 
of  birth  "  was  intended  kindly,  and  may  be  considered,  upon 
the  whole,  judicious. 

It  is  under  the  circumstances  of  the  unfortunate  re-appear- 
ance of  the  document,  indorsed  as  it  has  been  by  the  authority 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  that  we  are  called  upon  to  devote 
a  chapter  to  the  subject  of  Crime  and  Police  in  the  Metropolis 
and  the  City  of  London  :  it  having  formed  no  part  of  our 
original  intention  to  have  touched  upon  those  topics  in 
connection  with  our  statistical  expositions. 

The  difficult  task  now  devolves  upon  us  to  deal  with  the 
intricacies  of  a  subject  which,  fairly  treated,  is  plain  and  simple 
enough  j  but  which  has  been  rendered  difficult  to  handle  on 
account  of  the  multitude  of  the  mistakes  and  of  the  magni- 


OMITTED   PARAGRAPHS   OF   LETTER.  73 

tude    of   the    fallacies    which    have   been   imported   into   its 
consideration. 

Before  proceeding  to  deal  with  the  allegations  of  the  letter 
alluded  to,  it  should  be  stated  that  it  does  not  appear  in  the 
Report  of  the .  Select  Committee  on  Metropolitan  Local 
Government  and  Taxation,  in  the  usual  shape  of  a  letter,  with 
the  signature  of  the  writer  attached ;  nor  is  the  letter  entire  as 
originally  written — the  earlier  paragraphs,  as  well  as  the 
whole  of  the  Schedules  A  to  F,  and  the  Appendices  I.  to  V. 
being  omitted. 

The  document  is  headed,  "  Paper  handed  in  by  Mr.  Edwin 
Chadwick,  C.B." — "Comparative  cost  and  results  of  the 
Metropolitan  and  the  City  Corporation  Police  Forces." — 
"  Statistical  return  referred  to  in  answer  to  Question  6,542." 

"Extract from  a  Letter  by  Sir  Richard  Mayne  to  Sir  George  Grey." 

The  following  are  the  paragraphs  omitted  (the  Schedules 
A  to  F,  and  the  Appendices  I.  to  V.,  also  omitted,  will  be  found 
in  our  Appendix): — 

"Sir  George  Grey,  G.C.B." 

"Sir, 
"As  the  opportunity  to  correct  erroneous  statements  publicly  made  as 
"  to  the  comparative  cost  and  efficiency  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  and  the 
"Police  of  the  City  of  London  has  not  been  afforded  by  the  discussion  in 
"  Parliament  of  the  Bill  for  the  proposed  union  of  the  City  and  Metropolitan 
"Police,  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  make  the  truth  known  from  the  official 
"  returns  which  I  shall  now  lay  before  you. 

"  I  had  occasion  lately  to  call  your  attention  to  an  error  in  the  last 
"volume  of  the  'Judicial  Statistics/  presented  to  Parliament  for  the  year 
"  1861,  as  to  the  average  annual  cost  per  man  of  the  Metropolitan  and  City 
"  Police  Force,  which  was  stated  to  be  ^78  3s.  2d.  in  the  Metropolitan,  and 
"^79  4s.  7d.  in  the  City  Police,  making  the  difference  only^i  is.  $3L  These 
"results  were  obtained  by  dividing  the  total  expenditure  of  the  respective 


74  MAKING    "THE   TRUTH    KNOWN." 

"establishments  by  the  number  of  the  police  of  each  force,  but  in  the  ac- 
counts of  the  expenditure  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Establishment,  there 
"are  several  sums  of  very  large  amount  which  do  not  relate  to  the  cost  of 
' '  the  police  constable,  and  there  are  none  similar  in  the  City  Police 
"  accounts,  on  which  the  calculation  was  made  with  regard  to  the  City 
"  force  ;  the  error  will  be  corrected  in  the  forthcoming  volume  of  'Judicial 
' *  Statistics. 

' '  The  return  annexed  (A)  states  the  several  heads  of  expenditure  which 
"ought  not  to  be  included,  and  the  return  (B)  gives  the  total  expenditure 
* '  under  all  the  heads  which  ought  to  be  included  in  calculating  the  cost 
'*  per  man  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Force.  The  return  (C)  gives  the 
' '  total  expenditure  under  corresponding  heads  in  the  City  Police 
"  accounts. " 

Comment  upon  these  omissions  might  have  been  spared  us 
(we  rather  think  their  subject  matter  is  reiterated  in  con- 
siderable detail  subsequently),  but  that  in  the  opening  para- 
graph Sir  Richard  Mayne  most  clearly  and  most  creditably 
avows  as  his  motive  in  writing  the  letter,  the  discharge  of  his 
duty  in  making  "  the  truth  known "  from  the  official  sources 
at  his  command.  A  public  servant  could  not  be  actuated  by 
a  nobler  motive,  and,  however  feebly  he  may  have  discharged 
this  duty,  and  however  imperfectly  he  may  have  applied 
statistical  principles  to  the  promulgation  of  official  truth,  he 
cannot  but  rejoice  at  our  humbler  effort  towards  making  the 
truth  he  loves  better  known  by  our  correction  of  some  of  the 
mistakes  which,  probably  in  the  hurry  of  business,  had 
escaped  him ;  and  some  of  the  conclusions  to  which  he  had 
been  led  by  mere  inadvertence. 

The  correction  of  the  "  error "  in  "  Judicial  Statistics," 
adverted  to  by  Sir  Richard,  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  be 
hereafter  dealt  with  and  fully  quoted.  We  proceed,  therefore, 
to  our  examination  of  that  portion  of  the  letter  presented  to 
public  notice  by  Mr.  Chadwick  and  the  Commons'  Committee 
of  1866. 


COST    OF   THE    POLICE    PER    MAN.  75 

In  order  to  the  full  and  fair  examination  of  this  important 
document,  it  is  proposed  to  reprint  it,  paragraph  by  paragraph, 
using  the  marginal  notes  of  the  letter  as  headings,  and  dealing 
with  the  subject  matter  of  each  paragraph  seriatim.  It  should 
be  observed  that  the  comparison  is  based,  by  Sir  Richard, 
upon  the  expenditure  and  other  particulars  of  the  Police  for 
the  year  1861. 

Paragraph   I. — "  Cost  per  Man  of  the  City  and  Metropolitan 
Police  Force." 

"The  expenditure  for  the  Metropolitan  Police,  amounting  10^400,389, 
"divided  by  6, 116,  the  number  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Force  in  the 
"  Metropolitan  divisions,  exclusive  of  those  employed  in  the  Dockyard  and 
"  War  Department  Stations,  gives  an  annual  cost  of  ^65  9s.  3d.  for  each 
' '  man  ;  and  the  expenditure  for  the  City  Police,  amounting  to  £$, 1 72, 
"  divided  by  608,  the  number  of  the  City  Police,  gives  an  annual  cost  for 
11  each  man  of  ^79  4s.  7d.  The  cost  of  each  man  is,  therefore,  £13  5s.  4d., 
"  or  21  per  cent,  higher  in  the  City  Police.  The  difference  of  cost  thus 
1 '  shewn,  arises  partly  from  the  higher  rate  of  pay,  and  cost  of  clothing, 
"equipments,  etc.,  amounting  to £j  5s.  7d.  per  man,  and  the  remainder  is 
1 '  from  the  greater  expense  of  the  establishment  for  the  management  of  the 
"City  Police." 

The  basis  of  this  calculation  is  difficult  to  verify.  The  official 
volume  of  "Judicial  Statistics"*  for  1861,  states  (page  2)  the 
"  total  costs "  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Establishment  at 
,£481,302  us.  9d.,  and  the  total  number  of  the  Police  Force 
(exclusive  of  those  employed  in  the  Dockyard  and  War 
Department  stations,  namely,  663)  at  6,158.  These  figures  of 
the  Home  Secretary  differ  from  those  of  Sir  Richard  Mayne  ; 
for  the  one  return  is  based  upon  the  account  of  the  year 
ending  at  Michaelmas,  and  the  other  upon  the  year  ending 
31st  December,  1861.  To  this,  we  presume,  must  be  attri- 
buted the  difference  of  £8,355  7s.  6d.,  which  appears  upon 


*  The  official  criminal  statistics,  published  annually  by  the   Home 
Secretary. 


76  sir  Richard's  reduction  of  total  cost — 

deduction  of  the  items  amounting  to  ,£72,558  2s.  id.  (of  which 
hereafter)  from  the  cost  stated  in  "  Judicial  Statistics " — 
which  sum  the  Chief  Commissioner  claims  to  abate,  so'  as  to 
bring  down  the  "total  cost"  to  £400,389  2s.  3d.  There  yet 
remains  a  discrepant  sum  of  £70  7s.,  for  the  total  items  in 
Table  B  of  Sir  R.  Mayne's  letter,  amount,  rightly  cast,  to  the 
sum  of  £400,459  9s.  3d. 

Having,  for  argument's  sake,  given  the  Chief  Commissioner 
credit  for  all  he  claims  to  have  a  right  to  deduct  from  the 
"  total  cost "  of  his  Police  Establishment,  we  now  inquire — 
why  he  should  deduct  any  portion  of  the  expenses  from  the 
total  cost?  He  does  not  deny  the  expenditure  of  all  the 
money,  or  that  it  was  expended  upon  his  Police  Establish- 
ment ;  and  if  we  deal  alike  with  both  Forces,  what  claim  can 
justly  be  urged  by  either,  without  denying  the  figures  or  the 
facts,  to  reduce  the  total  costs  by  any  sum,  under  any  pretence 
whatever. 

It  will  be  understood  that  the  question  at  issue  is  not  the 
proper  expenditure  of  the  public  money,  but  whether  it  was 
expended  as  officially  stated.  The  Schedule  A,  before  referred 
to,  enumerates  items  which  "  should  be  excluded  in  estimating 
the  cost  per  man  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Force."  This  is 
a  poor  evasion  of  the  fact  in  dispute.  Concede  for  a  moment 
all  that  is  asked  :  the  question  remains — should  any  one  of  the 
items  in  the  schedule  be  excluded  in  estimating  the  total  cost 
of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Establishment?  The  question 
raised  by  the  Commissioner  is  not  one  of  opinion,  or  of  taste, 
as  regards  matter  of  account,  but  one  of  fact.  What  was 
the  actual  amount  expended  on  the  Metropolitan  Force  for  the 
year  1861,  and  what  did  it  amount  to  per  man  of  that 
Force,  as  charged  to  the  ratepayers  ? 


BY   CERTAIN    SPECIFIED   DEDUCTIONS.  77 

The  deductions  claimed  are  seven  in  number ;  of  four  of 
these — viz.  : 

"  Medical  attendance  and  medicines  for  destitute 

prisoners  " £li°99  J7     ° 

"  Refreshments    for    destitute    prisoners,    and 

other  small  contingencies "  I>323  l9  J° 

u  Extraordinary  expenses  incurred  in  the 
pursuit,   apprehension    and    conveyance   of 

prisoners" 3>4X5     5     ° 

"  Expenses  and  allowances  on  special  occasions, 
and  on  duties  out  of  the  district "  (not  reim- 
bursed to  the  Force)    805   19     9 

— it  has  only  to  be  said,  that  these  contingencies  are  as  appli- 
cable to  one  Force  as  to  the  other,  and  the  like  expenses  are 
incurred  by  the  City  Force,  although  the  items  may  not  be 
separately  stated.  Is  it  to  be  contended  that  destitute 
prisoners  are  left  in  the  City  to  perish  for  want  of  food  or 
medical  attendance?  Are  the  "small  contingencies,"  which 
we  find  include  "searching  female  prisoners,  candles  for 
stations,  sawdust  and  straw  for  cells,  washing  towels,"* 
never  incurred  at  the  City  stations?  Are  criminals  never 
pursued  and  brought  to  justice  by  the  City  Police  ? 

The  total  amount  of  these  items  is  ^6,645  is.  7d. 

The  fifth  item  is— 

"  Horses,  forage,  saddlery,  etc.,  and  vans,  ^8,491  15s.  6d." 

The  City  Force  has  no  such  charge,  not  having  occasion 
for  mounted  police  j  nor  would  the  Metropolitan  Force  need 
horses  if  the  ground  were   adequately  covered  with   a   foot 

*  Sir  Richard  Mayne's  Return  to  House  of  Commons,  1861,  p.  7. 


78  DEDUCTIONS   CONTINUED  I 

police  j  but  because  of  the  insufficiency  of  their  body  to  the 
extent  of  the  area  to  be  covered,  it  is  considered  economical  to 
enable  a  few  policemen  to  be  stationed  at  places  distant  from 
each  other,  by  mounting  a  certain  number  of  them ;  thus  the 
cost  of  horses  economises  the  cost  of  enlisting  and  paying  an 
increased  number  of  men.  If  the  cost  of  horses,  therefore, 
be  omitted,  then  the  pay  of  the  men  should,  for  purposes  of 
comparison,  be  proportionably  increased. 

The  sixth  item  is — 

"Erection  and  purchase  of  premises,  ,£15,179  2s.  2d." 

The  premises  necessary  to  each  Force  must  either  be  pur- 
chased, erected,  or  rented.  In  each  case  the  outlay  is  incurred; 
and  in  neither  case  can  the  debit  in  account  be  evaded. 
Observe  also,  that  if  Sir  Richard  is  to  deduct  £15,179  in 
1 86 1,  for  "purchase  and  erection,"  then  he  should  add  the 
"  rent "  to  this  and  every  succeeding  account — which  he  has 
not  done. 

The  seventh  item  runs  thus — 
"  Deficiency  of  Police  superannuation  fund,  £42,242  2s.  iod." 

This  means  that  there  has  been  bad  management  or  false 
economy  somewhere.  The  stoppages  from  wages  may  have 
been  insufficient,  or  the  wages  themselves  so  barely  sufficient 
"  for  dear  life,"  as  to  make  an  adequate  provision  for  superan- 
nuation impossible.  Or,  the  financial  administration  of  the 
Force  may  have  been  unwise.  But  these,  or  any  other  ima- 
ginable excuses  are  worthless  as  reasons  why  money  expended 
for  the  Police  Establishment  of  the  Metropolitan  District 
should  be  excluded  from  its  "  total  cost ;"  and  the  objection 
that,  although  part  of  the  total  cost,  these  amounts  ought  to 


THEIR    ILLUSORY   NATURE.  79 

be  excluded  from  consideration  in  ascertaining  the  cost  per 
man,  is  really  childish.  The  "cost  per  man  "  is  only  used  as  a 
common  denomination  whereby  we  may  be  enabled  to  solve 
the  problem  of  relative  economy  or  relative  extravagance. 

Having  shewn  that  the  deductions  claimed  by  Sir  Richard, 
amounting  to  ^72,558  2s.  id.,  are  illusory,  we  now  point  out 
that  he  has  omitted  from  his  "total  cost,"  ;£  1,1 71  13s.  nd., 
the  "  amount  of  retired  allowances  to  persons  formerly 
in  his  and  the  Receivers'  department."*  If  it  should  be 
said  that  this  item  is  paid  directly  by  the  Treasury,  the 
answer  is  that  it  is  the  cost  and  not  the  sources  of  payment 
which  we  are  discussing.  It  cannot  be  contended  that  this 
sum  forms  no  part  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  expendi- 
ture ;  for,  retiring  allowances  are  granted  in  consideration  of 
services  performed  ;  and,  if  not  given,  the  salaries  of  the 
Establishment  would  be  higher  in  proportion. 

The  above  sum  of  ^1,171  13s.  nd.  being  added  to  the 
total  cost — ,£472,947  4s.  4d.  f — gives  the  true  total  of 
£474,118  1 8s.  3d. 

And  now,  a  few  words  as  to  the  numerical  strength  of 
the  Metropolitan  Police  Force.  The  "Judicial  Statistics" 
give  it  for  the  last  eight  years,  thus  : — 


1858 

1859 

i860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

6,295 

6,296 

6,289 

6,158 

6,566 

6,590 

6,682 

6,784 

Sir  Richard,  however,  gives  the  strength  in  1861  at  6,116, 
which  figure  we  accept,  having  no  means  of  testing  the  same. 

*  Sir  Richard  Mayne's  Return  to  House  of  Commons,  1861,  p.  7. 
t  Sir    Richard     Mayne's     Letter,    Table     B,    ,£400,389    2s.     3d.     + 
£72,558  2S.  id.,  as  above,  =  £472,947  4s.  4d. 


80  COST   OF   CITY   POLICE. 

The  City  strength  in  Police,  according  to  "  Judicial  Statis- 
tics," was,  in  the  year  1861,  628  men;  but  in  the  para- 
graph under  review,  they  are  stated  as  608. 

Having  corrected  the  figures  used  as  a  basis  of  calculation, 
we  proceed. 

The  money  actually  disbursed  (^474,118  18s.  3d.)  divided 
by  the  alleged  strength  of  the  Establishment  (6,116)  gives  us 
an  expenditure  for  the  Metropolitan  Police  in  1861  at  the  rate 
of  ^77  1  os.  5d.  per  member  of  that  Force.  Sir  Richard  evi- 
dently thinks  this  too  much  (not  that  it  is  so  in  fact,  but  that 
it  looks  so),  and  commences  that  manipulation  of  figures 
which  brings  the  actual  cost  of  ^77  10s.  5&  down  to  his 
hypothetical  cost  of  ^65  9s.  3d.  per  man. 

As  to  the  cost  of  the  City  Police  Force,  the  total  amount 
in  1 86 1,  was  not,  as  stated  by  Sir  Richard  Mayne,  ^48,172, 
but  ^49,081  1 6s.  3d.*  From  which  should  be  deducted 
^78  4s.  3d.  for  pensions  to  watchmen  of  the  old  Force.  This 
gives  the  total  cost  of  the  City  Police  for  1861  of  ^49,003  12s. 
It  is  true  that,  of  this  sum,  £600  was  expended  upon  estab- 
lishing Telegraphic  communication  between  the  different 
police  stations ;  but  it  was  no  less,  on  that  account,  an  item 
in  the  "total  cost"  of  that  year's  police  expenditure,  and 
should  not  be  claimed  as  a  deduction.  The  strength  of  the 
Force  was  628,  and  dividing  the  corrected  total  cost  by  that 
number,  will  give  as  the  cost  per  man  of  the  City  Police, 
^78  os.  7d.,  or  at  the  rate  of  10s.  2d.,  per  man,  over  the  total 
cost  per  man  of  the  Metropolitan  Police. 

*  City's  printed  Accounts,  1861,  p.  51. 


COS'l  .1)   OF   POPULATION     I 

It  is  singular,  however,  that  if  the  jQboo  for  tele: 
wires  were  deducted  from  the  total  cost,  the  advantage  would 
then  be  with  the  City,  in  contrast  with  the  Metropolis,  as  to 
the  total  cost  per  man,  to  the  extent  of  8s.  nd.  per  man  for 
the  year.  The  authorities  in  the  City  may  however  resign 
themselves  complacently  to  the  charge  of  extravagance  to 
the  extent  of  10s.  2d.  per  constable,  per  annum,  it  being 
matter  of  notoriety  that  the  City  Police  are,  and  always 
have  been,  better  paid  (for  they  are  picked  men)  than  those 
of  the  Metropolitan  Force. 

Paragraph  II. — "Additional  Cost  to  City." 

"The  additional  cost  thus  caused  to  the  City  on  the  whole  number  of 
"the  City  Police  amounts  to  £8,370  a-year  more  than  it  would  be  if  the 
"pay,  expenses  and  management  were  according  to  the  Metropolitan 
"scale.  The  additional  cost  to  the  Metropolitan  District  on  the  whole 
"number  of  the  Metropolitan  Police,  if  the  pay,  expenses  and  manage  - 
"  ment  were  according  to  the  City  scale,  would  be  £84, 196  a-year  more 
' '  than  it  now  is,  which  sum  may  therefore  be  considered  as  so  much  saved 
"  by  the  more  economical  administration  of  the  Metropolitan  Establish- 
"  ment." 

The  additional  cost  produced  by  miscalculation,  working 
upon  an  unsound  basis,  is  a  mere  myth — to  which  further 
allusion  is  needless.  "  Economical  administration "  may 
better  be  argued  upon  other  grounds,  as  we  shall  shew 
presently. 

Paragraph  III.—"  The  Cost  per  Head  of  the  Population:' 

*'  The  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  the  Police,  considered  as  a  tax  per 
"  head  of  the  whole  population  of  each  district,  is,  in  the  Metropolitan 
"  District,  2s.  iod.,  and  in  the  City  8s.  4d.,  or  194  per  cent,  higher  in 
"the  City." 

This  is  a  fallacy.     It  is  as  if  Sir  Richard  had  said,  "  The 

6 


82  OFFICIAL    EXAGGERATION. 

cost  of  the  City  Police  should  be  divided  among  the  113,387 
people  who  sleep  there,  and  not  among  the  283,000  day- 
residents — still  less  among  the  700,000  people  who  daily 
throng  its  thoroughfares  for  business  purposes  or  for  amuse- 
ment— for  the  opportunity  of  plunder  or  the  chance  of  being 
plundered."  Does  the  Chief  Commissioner  really  believe  that 
the  sole  duty  of  the  City  Police  is  to  protect  and  watch  over 
its  sleeping  population?  Do  they  discharge  no  duty  during 
the  hours  of  the  day,  and  does  he  think  that  any  other  sane 
man  entertains  such  opinions  ?  Is  he  not  aware  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  Force  is  exclusively  occupied  in  regulating 
the  street  traffic  which  this  "army"  of  700,000  people 
imposes?  If  not,  we  beg  to  inform  him  that  81  men  are 
wholly  detailed  to  the  duty  of  maintaining  the  flow  of 
traffic  through  the  streets  of  the  City.  Does  he  not 
imagine  that  the  many  thousands  who  leave  their  commer- 
cial houses  every  evening  to  return  to  them  every  morning 
— who  are  rated  occupiers  and  registered  electors  of  the  City 
- — are  to  be  considered  as  parties  to  the  question,  now  first 
raised,  whether,  because,  on  a  given  night,  the  sleeping  popu- 
lation of  the  City  numbered  1 13,387,  that  number  is  to  be  made 
the  test  of  Police  cost  and  efficiency  ?  He  is  far  too  sensible  a 
man  to  contend  for  a  single  moment ;  and  he  cannot  fail  to 
perceive  and  admit  that  he  has  made  his  calculations  respect- 
ing the  City  of  London  on  untenable  data,  and  that  the  result 
is  a  palpable  fallacy.  Without  claiming  the  daily  population 
of  three-quarters  of  a  million  (all  of  whom,  nevertheless,  are 
to  be  cared  for,  whether  protected  or  suspected,  by  the  City 
Police  Force),  we  assert  the  283,520  daily  residents  to  be  the 
minimum  population  among  whom  the  sole  cost  of  the  City 
Police  Establishment  has  to  be  divided  ;  and  in  the  apportion- 
ment to  each  of  these  of  their  equal  share  in  the  total  cost 


COST-PER-HOUSE    FALLACY.  83 

°f  -^49»oo3  12s.,  that  share  will  be  3s.  i{d.  instead  of  8s.  4c!. 
per  head,  as  stated  in  the  above  paragraph. 

Now,  the  population  of  the  City  and  Metropolitan  Police 
Districts  being  shewn  in  "  Judicial  Statistics"  to  be  3,221,419, 
the  deduction  of  the  City  day-population  of  283,520  will  give 
us,  as  that  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  District  2,937,899  ; 
which  divided  into  the  total  cost  of  its  Police  Establishment 
0£474>ii8  18s.  3d.)  will  give  3s.  2|d.  per  head  of  the  popu- 
lation— a  result  shewing  the  City  to  be  less  expensively  policed 
than  the  Metropolitan  District  by  i|d.  per  head  per  annum. 

But,  appealing  to  the  conscientiousness  of  Sir  Richard 
Mayne,  we  ask — whether  we  should  greatly  sin  against  justice 
and  reason  if  we  called  the  population  of  the  City  of  London, 
for  Police  purposes,  half-a-million  (there  are  in  the  City  in 
the  course  of  the  day  842,373  persons),  and,  consequently,  the 
expense  per  head  in  the  City  will  be  only  is.  n|d.  against 
the  3s.  2jd.  Police  head-money  of  the  population  of  the 
Metropolitan  Police  district;  or  is.  3^d.  per  head,  equal  to  38 
per  cent,  in  favour  of  the  City. 

Paragraph  IV.—"  The  Cost  per  House." 

"  The  cost  as  a  tax  for  each  house,  inhabited  and  uninhabited,  is,  in 
"  the  Metropolitan  District,  19s.  o.^d.,  in  the  City, ^3  2s.  iod.,  or  more  than 
"  200  per  cent,  higher  in  the  City." 

To  humour  the  Chief  Commissioners,  we  follow  his  fallacy 
from  men  to  houses.  We  could  better  have  done  so  if  he  had 
informed  us  What  "a  house"  means.  May  it  not  depend 
upon  where  situate  ?  And  must  not  the  fiscal  result  depend 
upon  the  relative  value  of  houses  ? 


04  OFFICIAL    DIVARICATION. 

But,  taking  his  calculations  and  their  results  for  granted, 
is  it  not  manifest  that,  ^3  2s.  iod.  will  be  less  burdensome  to 
the  occupier  of  a  City  house  of  the  average  rental  of  ^136 
than  19s.  o£d.  will  be  to  the  occupier  of  a  house  at  Bethnal 
Green,  averaging  a  rental  of  ^13  per  annum?*  The  Police 
charge  of  jQ$  2s.  iod.  on  the  rental  of  the  former  is  but  2\  per 
cent.,  whilst  a  charge  of  19s.  ojd.  on  the  rental  of  the 
latter  is  over  7  per  cent.  Admit  the  charge  for  Police  to  be 
200  per  cent,  higher  on  a  house  in  the  City  than  on  one  in 
Bethnal  Green — the  average  rental  of  the  former  over  the  latter 
is  more  than  five  times  two  hundred  per  cent.  !  Where  then  is 
the  analogy  ?  Another  important  question  arises  here  : — How 
many  houses  are  there  in  the  City?  He  states  them,  in  a 
marginal  note  to  his  letter,  at  13,218,  in  186 1.  In  his  Appen- 
dix he  tells  us,  "The  City  Police  has  to  watch  14,794 
houses,  inhabited  and  uninhabited."  The  Registrar-General 
gives  us,  in  the  Census  for  1861 — inhabited  houses  13,431 ; 
inhabited  and  uninhabited,  15,488.  In  the  marginal  note  be- 
fore referred  to,  the  Chief  Commissioner  informs  us  that  the 
houses  in  the  Metropolitan  District,  in  1861,  were  360,089  ; 
whilst  in  his  Appendix  he  states,  "  The  Metropolitan  Police 
has  to  watch  461,845  inhabited  and  uninhabited  houses  " — a 
difference  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  houses  ! 

It  is  alike  useless  and  impracticable  to  pursue  the  cost- 
per-house  fallacy  further  than  to  remark  that,  as  the  houses  of 
the  City  of  London,  by  their  relative  value,  f  are  more  than 


*  That  these  are  the  rentals  of  houses  respectively  in  the  City  and  in 
Bethnal  Green,  see  p.  46. 

f  See  Table  of  "  Relative  number  of  Houses,"  in  Chap.  III., 
p.  47. 


POLICE    RATES    IN    THE    CITY.  85 

ten-fold  the  highest  number  credited  to  the  City  by  Sir  R. 
Mayne,  his  allegation  that  the  police  ratio  per  house  in  the 
Metropolitan  District  is  19s.  o£d.,  may  be  the  more  readily 
conceded,  since  the  ratio  of  cost  in  the  City — being  but  a  tenth 
of  the  result  stated  by  him — would  be  only  6s.  3d.  per  house. 


Paragraph  V. — {No  Marginal  Note.) 

**  The  cost  of  the  Police,  whether  considered  as  a  tax  on  the  population 
or  houses,  being,  as  thus  shewn,  so  much  higher  in  the  City,  it  was  as- 
serted that  the  inhabitants  of  the  City  pay  the  higher  rates  for  the 
greater  security  of  person  and  property  afforded  them." 


The  conclusion  in  the  former  portion  of  this  paragraph  is 
so  qualified  by  the  words  "  as  thus  shewn,"  and  the  fallacies 
of  his  postulates  and  the  inaccuracy  of  his  figures  have  been 
made  so  manifest,  that  we  have  only  to  deal  with  the  alleged 
assertion  that  the  City  pays  higher  Police  rates,  and  for 
a  certain  purpose. 

But  we  cannot  leave  the  question  of  cost  without  observ- 
ing, in  passing,  that  although  not  a  very  important  mistake 
on  the  part  of  Sir  Richard  to  state  (in  Appendix  D)  that 
the  City  Police  rate  in  1861,  was  at  6d.,  when,  in  fact,  it  was 
only  5^d. — which  may  be  attributable  to  mere  inadvertence, 
it  is  more  important  to  notice,  as  requiring  explanation,  that, 
in  the  official  volume  of  "Judicial  Statistics"  for  the  year  1865 
(the  last  published),  there  should  be  no  entry  whatever  of 
the  usual  contribution  by  the  Treasury  to  the  Metropolitan 
Police  Force. 


86  POLICE    EFFICIENCY,    HOW    BEST   TESTED. 

We  need  not  here  question  whether  "  the  inhabitants  of 
the  City  pay  the  higher  rates  " — it  is  wholly  immaterial  to  the 
issue — but  some  one  appears  to  have  asserted,  and  we  believe 
him  to  have  been  fully  justified  in  the  assertion,  that  (if  it  be 
so)  they  pay  such  higher  rates  "for  the  greater  security  of 
person  and  property  afforded  them." 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  next  and  subsequent  paragraphs  in  Sir 
Richard's  letter,  that  he  accepts  this  issue  and  undertakes  to 
answer  the  assertion.  The  matter  in  dispute  is  thus  brought 
within  very  narrow  limits;  and  we  shall  submit  to  the  test 
of  the  official  statistics  of  Metropolitan  crime  the  question 
of  the  relative  efficiency  of  the  two  Forces. 

But  after  all  said,  it  is  very  fallacious  to  test  the  value  of 
anything  merely  by  its  pecuniary  cost.  Efficiency  is,  and  must 
be  with  every  thinking  man,  the  real  test  of  value.  A  cheap 
police  force  may  be  the  dearest — on  the  principle  of  cheap  and 
worthless.  We  have  followed  Sir  Richard  into  the  money 
argument  reluctantly,  but  the  rectification  of  figures  demanded 
that  we  should  do  so.  It  is,  in  truth,  of  little  consequence  to 
the  citizens  if  they  obtain  what  they  require — efficient  protec- 
tion to  person  and  property — whether  they  pay  a  little  more 
to  obtain  it.  Protection  kthey  must  have,  let  it  cost  what  it 
may.  And  that  cost  concerns  no  one  else.  Besides,  the 
citizens  pay  cheerfully  their  quota  of  the  cost  of  the  Metro- 
politan Police,  but  they  claim  in  return  no  contribution 
directly  or  indirectly  from  the  Metropolitan  rate-payers, 
whether  by  rate  or  Treasury  grant ;  although,  as  we  shall  see 
presently,  over  three  criminals  out  of  four  come  to  the  City 
out  of  the  surrounding  districts.  It  is  therefore  somewhat 
unreasonable,  not  to  say  impertinent,  for  the  Commissioner  of 


CRIMES   in    THE  CITY   and   METROPOLIS.  87 

another  Force  to  object  that  a  few  shillings  per  head  pel 
annum  are  disbursed  by  the  citizens,  through  their  rep: 
tatives,  for  the  purpose  6f  obtaining  what  they  feel  tiny 
require.  As  men  of  business  and  employers  of  labour,  they 
know  by  experience,  that  efficiency  at  ^80  is  infinitely  cheaper 
than  an  indifferent  article  at  any  price.  We  have  already- 
alluded  to  the  fact,  unparalleled  elsewhere — that  there  are 
within  the  City,  2,000  houses  containing  property  of  immense 
value,  left  every  night  in  the  sole  charge  of  the  Police ;  and 
we  have  estimated  that  the  citizens  save,  in  this  matter  alone, 
some  ,£150,000  annually  by  reason  of  the  confidence  which 
they  repose  in  the  City  Force.  And  who  should  be  the  judges 
in  this  respect  but  themselves?  It  is,  in  truth,  to  them  a 
matter  of  absolute  indifference  whether  the  Force,  be  charge- 
able upon  the  rates  i^d.  or  even  3s.  per  head  per  annum, 
more  or  less  than  elsewhere,  if  they  obtain  from  the  Force 
that  which  they  have  a  right  to  expect. 


We  proceed  therefore  with  that  portion  of  the  letter  which 
deals  with  the  really  important  question  of  the  efficiency  of 
the  two  Forces. 


Paragraph  VI. — "  Comparison  of  Crimes  in  the  City  and  Metro- 
politan Districts." 

"  In  answer  to  the  assertion  that  there  is  a  greater  security  of  person  and 
"  property  in  the  City,  I  have  to  refer  to  the  Criminal  Returns  in  the  latest 
"  volume  of  the  'Judicial  Statistics,'  presented  to  Parliament  for  the  year 
"  1 86 1  :  it  is  there  shewn  that  the  number  of  crimes  committed  in  the 
"  year  was— in  the  City,  1,029  5  m  tne  Metropolitan  District,  11,203. 


S8  STATISTICAL    INACCURACIES. 

"  The  area  of  the  City  is  a  little  more  than  I  square  mile ;  the  population, 
"  111,784  persons,  and  the  number  of  houses  inhabited  and  uninhabited, 
"1,479- 

"  The  area  of  the  Metropolitan  District  is  571  square  miles  ;  the 
"population,  3,110,684  persons;  the  number  of  houses  inhabited  and 
"  uninhabited,  461,848." 

We  must  make  a  few  corrections  in  the  figures  quoted 
before  proceeding  to  point  out  the  fallacious  argument  based 
upon  them. 

The  population  of  the  City  is  erroneously  stated  at  111,784. 
The  number  given  in  "  Judicial  Statistics,"  is  112,247.  The 
number  of  houses  in  the  City  must  be  a  blunder  of  the  printer 
[1,479  must  mean  14,794] ;  but  the  census  of  1861  gives  them 
at  15,488.  The  population  of  the  Metropolitan  District  is,  not 
3,110,684,  but  3,109,172  [see  page  2  of  "Judicial  Statistics," 
1 861] ;  and  the  houses  in  that  District  are  given  in  this 
document  at  (as  above)  461,848 )  in  Appendix  III., 
at  618,445,  and,  in  the  marginal  table,  at  360,089  ! ! 
To  emerge  from  this  statistical  labyrinth,  let  us  see  how 
the  data  may  be  sought  to  be  made  available,  and  what  may 
be,  to  use  Sir  Richard's  words,  "thus  shewn." 

It  is  a  grievous  fallacy — nay,  it  is  a  poor  quibble — to  affect 
to  test  the  comparative  "  security  of  person  and  property  in 
the  City "  by  reference  to  one  of  the  two  returns  given  in 
"  Judicial  Statistics."  "  Crimes  "  and  "  offences  "  against 
person  and  property  are  there  recorded  under  the  two  heads, 
"  Indictable  Offences  "  (Table  V.)  and  "  Offences  determined 
Summarily "  (Table  VI.).  The  Chief  Commissioner  pro- 
poses to  restrict  his  case  to  the  former  of  these  returns,  and 
for  the  one  year,  1861,  when  he  might  have  given  us  the 
fairer  criterion  of  an  eight  years'  aggregate  and  average.  But 
he    shall    be    met   upon   the   ground   of   his   own   selection 


CRIMINALITY   TESTED    BY   POPULATION.  89 

primarily,  upon  the  condition  that  he  will  afterwards  favour 
us  with  his  considerate  attention  whilst  we  enlarge  the  scope 
of  the  inquiry  and  adduce  evidence  for  its  fuller  elucidation. 


Paragraph  VII. — "Ratio  of  Crime  to  Population" 

u  The  proportion  of  crimes  to  population  (Table  F  annexed)  is — in  the 
"  City,  1  crime  to  108  persons  ;  in  the  Metropolitan  District,  1  crime  to 
"  277  persons.  In  this  relation  crimes  in  the  City  are  upwards  of  156  per 
"  cent,  higher  than  in  the  Metropolitan  District." 

To  ascertain  the  population  in  the  City  fairly  chargeable 
with  the  crime  committed,  is  a  work  which  it  is  impossible  to  per- 
form with  anything  approaching  precision  or  judicial  accuracy. 
The  attempt  to  determine  the  proportion  of  crime  in  the  City 
— measuring  it  by  population — is  a  course  which  we  should 
never  have  made  had  not  the  task  been  imposed  upon  us 
in  our  endeavour  to  follow  Sir  Richard  Mayne.  To  attempt  an 
analysis  of  the  character  of  the  populations  of  Epsom,  Ascot, 
or  Newmarket,  by  imputing  to  the  residents  of  those  towns 
all  the  crime  committed  by  the  imported  visitors  to  the  races, 
and  to  adopt  that  ratio  as  the  standard  of  criminality,  would 
be  hardly  so  gross  a  perversion  of  statistics  as  to  charge  the 
113,387  registered  residents  of  the  City  and  Liberties  with 
the  crime  committed,  not  only  by  them,  but  also  by  the 
fluctuating  daily  population  numbering — sooner  or  later 
during  the  24  hours — some  728,000  persons. 

We  almost  feel  that  some  apology  is  due  to  the  scientific 
inquirer  for  our  attempt  in  this  direction.  He  must,  however, 
do  us  the  justice  to  bear  in  mind  that  we  did  not  set  the 
example  in  this  respect. 


90  DO   THE   NON-RESIDENTS   COMMIT   CRIMES? 

An  arithmetical  calculation  of  crimes  based  upon  a  hypo- 
thetical population,  is  not  likely  to  give  an  accurate  result. 
Sir  Richard  assumes  a  City  population  of  sleepers ;  or,  in 
other  words,  that  all  the  crimes  committed  within  the  City 
are  chargeable  to  the  sleeping  population  of  113,387  persons, 
and  that  to  these — and  these  only — is  the  attention  of  the  628 
City  policemen  to  be  devoted.  This  is  the  absurd  hypothesis 
upon  which  all  his  calculations  are  based.  It  must  carry 
his  argument  to  this  ludicrous  extent — that  the  170,133 
persons  engaged  commercially,  day  by  day,  at  their  places  of 
business,  and  the  other  persons  who  daily  migrate  to  the 
City,  forming  a  total  of  728,986  human  beings,  of  average 
honesty  and  morality,  never  commit  any  criminal  act! 
On  such  data  he  may  make  his  sum  total  of  crime  and 
criminals  whatever  he  may  desire  to  make  it ;  but  the  system 
of  arithmetic  preferred  and  adopted  by  the  Chief  Commis- 
sioner will  not  satisfy  commercial  men,  or  indeed  any  men  of 
ordinary  common  sense. 

The  following  figures,  the  result  of  the  investigation  of 
over  9,600  charge  sheets,  have  been  furnished  under  the  hand 
of  Mr.  Oke,  the  Chief  Clerk  to  the  Justice  Room,  at  the 
Mansion  House.* 

Return  of  the  Residences  of  persons  proceeded  against,  on 
Indictment  and  Summarily,  in  the  year  ending  Sept.  29, 
1864,  as  appearing  in  the  "Judicial  Statistics,"  1864, 
distinguishing  the  number  of  those  residing  in  and  out 
of  the  City  of  London. 


*  The  "Judicial  Statistics  "  for  1864  were  the  last  published  when  this 
investigation  commenced. 


NUMBER    OF    CRIMES    BY    NON   I 


91 


Criminals 

and 
Offenders. 

a 

=3  & 

Residing  out  of  City. 

i 

■ 

1 

f 

00 

*5 

I 

w 

1 

8*b 

0.0-0 

i 

Persons  proceeded 
against    on    In- 
dictment       717 

Persons  proceeded 
against        Sum- 
marily    8,924 

I63 
2,l83 

308 
4.914 

82 

IO 
63 

6 

33 

45 
70 

103 

510 

554 
6.741 

Grand  Total  9,641 

5,222 

1.233 

73 

29 

us 

613 

Total  residing  in  the  City 

2,346 

7.295 

From  the  above  we  learn  the  important  fact  for  which 
we  are^ceri tending,  that  it  is  not  the  registered  residents  of 
the  City  who  should  be  charged  with  all  the  crimes  and 
offences  committed.  For,  of  9,641  crimes  and  offences  com- 
mitted in  the  City,  only  2,346  were  committed  by  residents, 
and  the  remainder,  viz.,  7,295,  by  non-residents.  We  thus 
obtain  the  proportion  of  1  to  4*1  (say  1  to  4),  as  that  of 
the  crimes  and  offences  committed  by  the  residents  of  the 
City,  to  those  committed  by  the  whole  number. 


The  day  residents  of  the  City  are  283,520  persons,  of 
whom  considerably  more  than  the  average  are  adults.  The 
daily  frequenters  are  728,986,  the  great  majority  of  whom  are 
adult  males.  These  figures  therefore  represent,  as  it  regards 
commission  of  crime,  very  much  more  than  their  mere  nume- 
rical significance ;  as  they  are  exclusive  of  children,  who  are 
enumerated  as  within  the  Metropolitan  district.  Of  the 
728,986  daily  frequenters,  it  may  be  contended  that  they  are 


92  RATIO    OF    CRIMES    TO    HOUSES. 

common  to  both  the  City  and  Metropolitan  Districts ;  and  we 
are  therefore  disposed  to  accept  one  half  of  that  number,  or 
364,493,  in  addition  to  the  283,520,  making  648,013  as,  at 
least  for  pmposes  of  crime,  the  equitable  population  of  the 
City  of  London. 

The  Table  F,  annexed  to  the  letter  of  Sir  Richard 
Mayne,  correctly  quotes  from  "Judicial  Statistics,"  1861, 
the  number  of  charges  for  Indictable  offences  preferred  in  the 
Metropolitan  District  at  11,203,  and  those  in  the  City  of 
London  at  1,029.  Let  us  therefore  alter  Sir  Richard's 
results  by  the  substitution  of  the  amended  population  of  the 
City  thus  : — Dividing  the  City  population  by  the  number  of 
criminal  charges  at  the  City  police  courts  (1,029),  there  will 
be  1  person  charged  with  crime  in  every  629  of  the  population 
of  the  City  of  London. 

The  registered  population  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Dis- 
tricts augmented  by  that  of  the  City,  being  3,221,419,  must 
now  be  reduced  (as  even  a  thief  cannot  be  in  two  places  or 
both  districts  at  once)  by  the  deduction  of  the  amended  popu- 
lation of  the  City,  which  will  give  us,  for  Police  purposes, 
2>573>4°6  as  the  amended  population  of  the  Metropolitan 
Police  District;  and  if  we  divide  that  number  by  the  11,203 
Metropolitan  crimes,  we  shall  have,  as  the  result,  1  crime  to 
every  229  individuals. 

We  have  "  thus  shewn "  that  crime  in  the  City  is  as  1  to 
629,  and  crime  in  the  Metropolis  as  1  to  229  of  their  respec- 
tive populations — a  somewhat  different  result  from  that  obtained 
by  Sir  Richard  Mayne. 


RATIO   OF    HOUSES   TO   CRIME    "AT   THE    DERBY.  93 

Paragraph  VIII.—"  Ratio  of  Crime  to  Houses." 

"  The  proportion  of  crimes  to  inhabited  houses  is — in  the  City,  1  crime 
"to  12  houses;  in  the  Metropolitan  District,  I  crime  to  37  houses.  In 
'•  this  relation  crimes  in  the  City  are  upwards  of  208  per  cent,  higher  than 
"in  the  Metropolitan  District." 

The  house  fallacy  is  but  one  degree  less  in  its  unreason- 
ableness than  the  population  fallacy.  The  houses  within  the 
City  of  London  are  15,488;  but  because  many  of  those  houses 
paying  a  higher  average  rent,  and  higher  average  rates  than 
the  houses  of  any  other  parish  or  district  in  the  kingdom,  are 
consigned  to  the  protection  of  the  Police,  Sir  Richard  holds 
that,  as  they  are  not  dormitories,  they  are  therefore  not  houses. 
And  by  this  process  of  reasoning  it  is  sought  to  make  "  the 
truth  known,"  that  in  the  City  of  London  there  are  fewer 
houses  than  rated  tenements  ;  that  therefore  crime  in  the  City 
increases  in  the  proportion  to  the  confidence  of  the  owners  of 
property  in  the  efficiency  of  the  Police.  To  follow  the  tangled 
thread  of  such  an  argument  were  a  waste  of  time.  There  is 
a  connection  between  men  and  criminals,  if  we  can  but  ascer- 
tain the  number  of  men  who  furnish  the  criminals ;  but,  be 
the  houses  many  or  few,  be  they  palaces  or  hovels,  we  despair 
of  ascertaining  the  number  of  criminals  by  that  of  the  habita- 
tions of  the  citizens  of  London. 

Given,  that  there  were  numerous  offences  perpetrated  at 
Epsom  on  the  Derby  day  of  1861.  Ascertain  the  number  of 
houses  inhabited  and  uninhabited  on  the  Downs  upon  that 
occasion.  Required,  upon  these  data,  the  number  of  criminals. 
And  when  the  Chief  Commissioner  shall  have  "  made  the  truth 
known  "  by  his  solution  of  this  problem,  we  will  endeavour  to 
assist  him  in  ascertaining  the  relation  which  the  crimes  com- 
mitted by  the  greater  crowd  of  visitors  who  frequent  the  City 


94         CRIMES   TO    HOUSES BY   THEIR    COMMON    MEASURE. 

daily,  bear  to  the  number  of  "  houses  "  in  the  City  and  in  the 
Metropolis.  It  may  be  desirable  also  to  ascertain  what  rela- 
tion the  policemen,  who  are  exclusively  employed  in  facilitat- 
ing the  passage  of  the  flood  of  traffic,  pedestrian  and  vehicular, 
pouring  through  the  crowded  streets  of  the  City  daily,  bear 
to  the  number  of  houses  therein.  No  fewer  than  81  men  of 
the  Force  are  employed  constantly  for  the  exclusive  purpose 
of  facilitating*  this  street  traffic  ;  what  possible  relation 
can  these  constables  bear  to  houses?  There  would  be  some 
reason  and  logic  involved  in  ascertaining  their  relation  to 
horses,  to  cabs,  or  to  omnibuses ;  but  it  is  utterly  fallacious 
to  measure  their  efficiency,  or  the  amount  of  crime  they 
detect,  by  the  brick-and-mortar  standard  suggested. 

But,  to  humour  the  Commissioner,  we  will  bring  the  matter 
to  the  test  of  figures.  We  have  shewn  that  more  than  three 
out  of  four  of  the  criminals  of  the  City  belong  to  the  sur- 
rounding districts.  To  obtain,  then,  the  elements  of  this 
calculation,  we  ought  to  reduce  the  crime  in  the  City  by 
three-fourths  before  dividing  it  by  the  number  of  houses,  or 
we  should  increase  the  number  of  houses — if  houses  are  to  be 
the  test — in  the  like  proportion.  By  either  method,  the  result 
would  tell  unfavourably  to  Sir  Richard's  police  district. 
To  compare,  however,  a  building  of  suites  of  offices  and 
counting-houses,  swarming  with  clerks  and  employes,  with 
almost  unlimited  opportunities  for  fraud,  forgery,  and  em- 
bezzlement, with  an  ordinary  suburban  dwelling — without 
making  due  allowance  for  the  .difference,  would  be  grossly 
fallacious.  Again,  referring  to  our  Table  of  Relative  Values  of 
Houses,*  we  see  that  measuring  houses  by  the  only  standard 

*  See  Chapter  III. 


APPREHENSIONS   TESTED    BY    RESULTS.  95 

within  our  reach,  a  house  in  the  City  is  equal  to  three  and  a 
half  average  houses.  The  proportion  of  one-fourth  of  City 
crimes  to  houses,  therefore,  will  be,  i  crime  to  126  instead  of 
1  to  12  houses,  as  stated  by  the  Commissioner;  and  as  he 
says,  that  crime  in  the  Metropolis  is  as  1  to  37 — which  we  do 
not  care  to  dispute — the  proportion  of  crime  in  the  City  to 
that  of  crime  in  the  Metropolis  will  be  as  1  in  126  compared 
with  1  in  37,  or  240  per  cent,  higher  in  the  Metropolitan 
District  than  in  the  City. 

Paragraph    IX. — "Ratio    of    Apprehensions,    Committals   and 
Discharges." 

"The  proportion  of  number  of  persons  apprehended  to  number  of 
44  crimes  committed  is — in  the  City,  10  apprehensions  to  15  crimes  ;  in  the 
"Metropolitan  District,  10  apprehensions  to  28  crimes.  But  since,  as  it 
1 '  will  be  observed  presently,  half  the  number  of  persons  apprehended  by 
"the  City  Police  were  discharged  by  the  Magistrates,  it  is  necessary  to 
"compare  the  number  of  efficient  apprehensions,  which  resulted  in 
"bringing  the  offenders  to  trial,  with  the  amount  of  crime  in  each 
"  district. 

"This  ratio  was — in  the  City,  10  efficient  apprehensions  to  32  crimes  ; 
"in  the  Metropolitan  District,  10  efficient  apprehensions  to  37  crimes. 
"  The  proportion  of  prisoners  discharged  by  Magistrates  in  respect  of  those 
"  apprehended— by  the  City  Police,  1  in  2  ;  by  the  Metropolitan  Police,  1 
"  in  4.  If  the  whole  value  of  a  police  were  to  be  measured  by  the  number 
"  of  magisterial  committals,  in  comparison  with  the  number  of  police  appre- 
"  hensions,  it  would  appear  plain  from  these  figures,  that  the  number  of 
"  persons  improperly  apprehended  by  the  City  Police  is  double  that  so 
"  apprehended  by  the  Metropolitan  Police.  The  Metropolitan  Police  are 
"concerned  with  much  graver  classes  of  crimes,  or  they  get  up  their 
14  evidence  more  satisfactorily  ;  of  the  suspected  and  accused  persons 
"apprehended  by  the  City  Police,  less  than  one-half  of  those  apprehended 
44  by  the  Metropolitan  Police,  fully  three-fourths  are  committed  for  trial." 

We  care  not  to  discuss  (though,  as  will  be  seen  pre- 
sently, we  do  not  admit)  the  accuracy  of  the  statement 
that    the    proportion    of    apprehensions    to    the   number   of 


96  ADMISSIONS    OF    SIR    RICHARD    MAYNE. 

Indictable  crimes  is  nearly  twice  as  high  in  the  City  as  in  the 
Metropolitan  Police  Districts,  namely,  as  28  is  to  15  nearly — 
an  admission  which  tells  in  favour  of  the  activity  of  the  City 
Force ;  for  is  it  not  the  first  duty  of  a  constable  to  secure  and 
bring  before  the  magistrate  every  person  who  is  charged  with 
crime  or  offence  ?  It  will  be  a  gross  perversion  of  the  English 
system  and  a  sad  approximation  to  the  Continental  system  of 
police  administration,  which  shall  permit  a  class  of  men, 
uneducated  in  the  exercise  of  the  judicial  faculty,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  temptations  of  venality,  to  decide  cases  upon 
their  own  responsibility.  Whenever  such  a  system  shall 
become  prevalent,  the  liberty  of  the  subject,  as  on  the  Con- 
tinent, will  be  in  the  hands  of  the  power  intrusted  with  the 
control  of  the  Police.  That  the  proportion  of  apprehensions 
in  the  City  is  not  improperly  high,  is  shewn  by  the  figures 
which  follow ;  for  Sir  Richard  admits  that  the  proportion  of 
efficient  convictions  is  also  in  favour  of  the  City  Police,  being 
in  the  City  10  convictions  to  32  criminals;  in  the  Metropolis 
10  convictions  to  37  criminals.  If  the  numbers  charged  be 
larger  in  the  City  the  residuum  will,  as  a  matter  of  necessity, 
be  larger  after  magisterial  adjudication. 

But  here,  again,  lurks  a  latent  fallacy.  The  question  we 
are  reasoning  out  is,  not  the  magisterial  question,  but  the 
relative  efficiency  of  the  two  Forces  of  Police.  There  are  a 
score  of  considerations  which  might  enter  into  the  solution  of 
this  problem,  of  apprehensions  and  committals,  which  are  quite 
irrelevant  to  the  question  of  Police  efficiency.  The  apprehen- 
sions are  the  act  of  the  Police  j  not  so  the  committals.  The 
latter  must  be  tested  to  a  great  extent  upon  other  than  Police 
grounds.  For  instance,  may  not  the  City  magistrates  repose 
less  confidence  in  the  unsupported  testimony  of  the    Police 


QUESTIONABLE    EVIDENCE   OK    EFFICI1  97 

constables?  May  not  the  professional  magistrates  of  the 
Metropolis  take  a  more  strictly  legal  view  of  sin  h  testimony, 
and  send  it  for  the  adjudication  of  a  jury  ?  May  not  some 
part  of  the  result  be  reasonably  sought  in  apparently  trifling 
but  really  important  differences  in  the  administration  of  the 
two  Forces — such  as  the  amount  of  discretion  allowed  to  indi- 
vidual constables  as  it  regards  the  taking  and  disposal  of 
charges?  It  is  manifest  that  in  a  district,  containing  six 
Stations  within  the  square  mile,  there  can  be  less  excuse  for 
intrusting  such  responsibility  with  a  private  of  the  Force,  than 
in  a  widely  spread  and  a  semi-rural  area  like  that  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  Metropolitan  District.  In  such  a  district 
responsibility  must  be  intrusted  to  the  constables,  and  will 
generally  be  exercised  in  the  direction  which  involves  least 
risk  and  trouble.  May  not  the  difference  to  some  extent 
be  attributable  to  the  regulations  of  the  two  Forces  as  it 
regards  allowances  or  rewards  to  the  men  who  succeed  in 
obtaining  committals  or  convictions  ?  It  is  more  than 
whispered  about  the  Criminal  Court  that  such  a  system  pre- 
vails and  exercises  some  influence.  If  it  is  seriously  con- 
tended that  an  increased  proportion  of  charges  to  committals, 
apart  from  other  considerations,  indicates  an  inefficient  Police, 
then  the  converse  holds  good — that  fewer  charges  point  to 
increased  Police  efficiency.  Let  us  carry  this  argument  to  its 
supreme  limits,  and  we  shall  discover  its  fallaciousness — the 
highest  state  of  efficiency,  on  the  argument  put  forward,  con- 
sisting in  the  absence  of  a?iy  charge  whatever  I 

The  result,  however,  of  an  investigation  of  the  whole  of  the 

facts,  as  stated  by  the  Home  Secretary,  is  that,  as  regards  the 

Apprehensions  in  the  last  eight  years — 1858-65,  there  were 
in — 


98  THE   CHIEF   COMMISSIONER'S    STATISTICS. 

The  Metropolitan  Police  District 686, 109 

The  City  of  London  54,575 

Making  a  total  of  740,684 

The  proportion  of  Apprehensions  to  Crimes  Charged 
were,  in  respect  of  Indictable  offences, — 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District  38-8  per  cent. 

In  the  City  of  London  67 '4.        „ 

And  the  proportion  of  Committals  and  Convictions  to 
Apprehensions  were,  for  Crimes  of  every  description, — 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District 55*0  per  cent 

In  the  City  of  London  697         „ 

The  results,  for  what  they  may  be  worth,  are  favourable 
to  the  City  Police;  for  the  verification  of  the  figures,  the 
'eader  is  referred  to  the  subjoined  table. 

"  The  precise  number  of  criminals  committed  for  trial  in  the  year  was — 
"in  the  City,  321  ;  Metropolitan  District,  2,997. 

"  Comparing  the  ratio  of  those  figures  to  the  respective  populations  of 
"  each  district,  it  is  found  that  such  crimes  are— in  the  City  as  3  ;  in  the 
"  Metropolitan  District,  1." 

It  is  singular  that  Sir  Richard  should  be  so  very  rarely 
in  accord  with  the  figures  of  "Judicial  Statistics."  Here 
again  he  is  at  issue  with  the  official  record  of  the  late  Home 
Secretary.  At  page  10  of  the  volume  for  1861,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  City  committals  for  Indictable  offences  were  not  321, 
but  349;  and  that  those  for  the  Metropolitan  District  were 
not  2,997,  but  2,990.  It  is,  however,  of  more  importance  to 
point  out  that,  dividing  the  corrected  numbers  of  com- 
mittals into  the  corrected  populations  of  the  respective  dis- 
tricts,  the   result   will   be    1,857    and   860.      Thus   we   have 


THE   GRAVER   OFFENCES.  99 

for  the  City,  i  committal  to  1,857  ;  and  for  the  Metropolitan 
Police  District,  1  to  860  of  the  population ;  the  proportion 
being — in  the  City,  1 ;  in  the  Metropolitan  District,  2.  This 
contrasts  strangely  with  the  alleged  converse  result  of  3 
to  1  against  the  City  of  London. 

Paragraph  X. — "  Proportion  of  Graver  Offences  against  Persons 
and  Houses." 

"With  reference  to  the  graver  class  of  offences  against  persons  and 
"houses,  the  annexed  Table  E,  from  'Judicial  Statistics/  page  16,  in  the 
"year  1861,  shews  that  the  following  grave  offences  against  the  person 
"  namely,  attempts  to  murder,  shooting  at,  wounding,  stabbing  with  intent 
"to  do  bodily  harm,  manslaughter,  and  larceny  from  the  ^person,  the  num- 
"  bers  were  in  the  Metropolitan  District  1,368,  being  in  the  ratio  of  1 
"  to  2,273,  or  °'44  Per  cent,  of  the  population.  In  the  City  the  numbers 
"are  304,  being  in  the  ratio  of  I  to  368,  or  271  per  cent,  of  the 
"  population. " 

With  what  shew  of  confidence  does  Sir  Richard  here 
denounce  the  gross  inefficiency  of  the  City  Police  Force  !  He 
is  not  now  dealing  with  small  transgressors,  but  with  "the 
graver  classes"  of  offenders.  And  he  forms  his  classes  of 
such  crimes  as  he  thinks  will  yield  him  the  desired  result  of 
ratios  and  percentages,  and  enable  him  to  attain  the  Hiber- 
nian climax  that,  in  respect  of  these  graver  offences,  the  City 
criminals  figure  in  the  impossible  ratio  of  271  per  cent,  of 
the  population !  Nor  is  this  a  mere  oversight.  The  same 
absurd  figures  were  boastingly  quoted  against  the  City  Force 
in  the  newspapers  of  1863 — they  are  to  be  found  in  the 
official  copy  of  Sir  Richard  Mayne's  letter  furnished  in  1863 
from  the  Metropolitan  Police  Office — they  are  in  the  "  extract " 
produced  by  Mr.  Chadwick  before  the  Commons'  Committee 
— and  we  find  them  in  the  Second  Report  of  that  Committee, 
printed  "  by  order  of  the  House  of  Commons,"  now  before  us. 
There  has  been  plenty  of  time,  as  well  as  ample  opportunity — 


IOO  CONTRAST    IN    THE    CITY    AND    METROPOLIS. 

during  three  and  a  half  years,  for  the  correction  of  an  error 
or  the  avowal  of  a  mistake.  Yet  here  we  have  this  monstrous 
libel  upon  the  City  of  London  stereotyped  in  the  Parliamentary 
Blue-Book — unqualified  and  unexplained.  Nevertheless,  if  it 
answers  not  itself,  it  is  unanswerable — and  there  we  leave  it. 

.  But,  of  the  "graver  offences."  Why  should  Sir  Richard 
have  been  at  the  trouble  of  classifying  them?  At  page  20  of 
the  volume  before  him  he  had  to  his  hand,  the  classification, 
by  the  Home  Secretary,  of  the  crimes  in  the  order  of  their 
graver  criminality.  The  Class  No.  1  comprises  "offences 
against  the  person,"  Class  No.  2,  "  offences  against  property, 
with  violence." 

The  total  Indictable  offences  against  the  person,  in  the 
whole  Metropolis,  in  1861  ("Judicial  Statistics,"  page  16), 
were  316.  Of  these,  15  were  committed  in  the  City,  and  291 
in  the  Metropolitan  District. 

The  total  Indictable  offences  against  property  with  vio- 
lence (same  page  of  the  same  authority),  were  460.  Of  these, 
40  were  committed  in  the  City,  and  420  in  the  Metropolitan 
District. 

These  two  classes  include  all  the  graver  offences.  They 
present  a  total  of  776;  65  in  London  proper,  and  711  in 
London  extra. 

We  thus  ascertain  that  the  proportion  of  graver  crimes  to 
population,  is — 

In  the  Metropolis,  1  to  3,337;  in  the  City,  1  to  9,969; — 
instead  of  the  alleged  proportion  of  Sir  R.  Mayne — 1  to 
2,273,  and,  in  the  City,  1  to  368. 

We  have  thought  it  only  fair  to  take  these  graver 
offences  as  classified  in  "  Judicial  Statistics,"  for  we  object 
to  Sir  Richard  making  a  classification  of  his   own   for   this 


SIR    RICHARD    IGNORES    MURDERERS.  IOI 

special  purpose.  We  demur  to  his  thrusting  the  item  of  "  lar 
ceny  from  the  person  "  among  his  "  graver  offences. "  We  can- 
not but  think  such  an  incongruity  committed  with  a  purpose — 
the  smaller  offence  being,  as  an  isolated  item,  somewhat 
less  favourable  to  the  City.  And  we  object  most  emphatically 
against  the  Chief  Commissioner's  omission  from  his  list  of 
"  graver  offences  "  of  the  gravest  of  all  crimes — Murder.  And 
tli is  objection  is  twofold : — i.  That  murder  is,  beyond  a\\>  the 
gravest  of  crimes.  2.  That  the  statistics  of  this  crime  are 
all  against  the  Metropolitan  District — to  which  strange 
circumstance  some  people  might  be  inclined  to  attribute  its 
omission  from  Sir  Richard's  classification.  The  number  of 
murders  in  1861  was  10 — all  of  which  were  committed  in  the 
Metropolitan  Police  District.  Yet,  strange  and  unaccountable 
as  it  may  appear,  neither  in  his  letter,  nor  in  the  appendices 
to  that  letter,  is  there  a  single  reference  to  this  one  crime 
— Murder  !  Does  $ir  Richard  consider  murder  as  a  crime 
of  a  grave  character  ?  Does  he  not  know  that,  resting  the 
argument  of  efficiency  on  the  number  of  this  gravest  of  offences, 
his  own  Force  is  emphatically  condemned  ?  If  not,  we  inform 
him  that  in  the  eight  years — 1858  to  1865 — in  London,  79 
murders  were  committed ;  of  which  3  only  were  in  the  City, 
and  76  in  his  own  Police  District. 

The  classifying  of  pocket-picking,  or  pilfering,  among 
the  graver  crimes  may  be  very  ingenious  in  the  Chief  Police 
Commissioner — and  it  is  quite  of  a  piece  with  his  omission 
of  the  crime  of  murder  from  that  category ;  but  a  few  figures 
will  put  the  matter  in  a  truthful  and  intelligible  point  of  view. 
The  pilferers  have  been  annually,  for  the  past  eight  years,  an 
average  of  1,351  in  the  Metropolitan  Police  District,  and  295 
in  that  of  the  City;  1  in  1,904  of  the  population  in  the  former, 
and  i  in  2,196  in  that  of  the  latter. 


102  ANALYSIS    OF   ALL   THE    GRAVER    CRIMES. 

Having  disposed  of  this  make-weight  of  Sir  Richard,  we 
beg  to  refer  him  to  the  authority  of  his  superior  officer,  the 
then  Home  Secretary,  for  further  details. 

The  subjoined  is  a  list  of  "  the  graver  crimes  "  charged  by 
the  Home  Department  to  the  Police  of  Centralization  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  Police  of  Local  Self-Government  on  the 
other — quoting,  as  we  do,  from  the  "  Judicial  Statistics  "  of  Sir 
George  Grey : — 

FOR    THE    EIGHT    YEARS,    1 85 8 — 65. 

i.  Murder — 

Metropolitan  Police  District 76,      or  1  in  33,860 

City  of  London 3,      or  1  in  216,004 

2.  Attempts  to  Murder,  Wounding,  etc. — 

Metropolitan  Police  District 864,      or  1   in   2,978 

City  of  London  30,      or  1  in  21,600 

3.  Manslaughter  

Burglary   

Highway  Robbery     J  Metropolitan 
Procuring  abortion  I      Police  Dis- 

Concealing  birth  ...  >      trict  4,521,     or  1  in        569 

Beastiality     V  City  of  Lon- 

Rape  and  attempts^      don    215,     or  1  in     3,014 


Bigamy 

Child  stealing 


The  percentage  of  all  these  "  graver  crimes  "  is  therefore — 
Metropolitan  Police  District,  957;  City  of  London,  4-3.     Or 
1  in  471,  and  1  in  2,613  of  their  respective  populations. 

It  is  most  unsatisfactory  that  in  the  cases  of  Murder  and 
Suicide,  the  returns  of  the  Coroners  of  Middlesex,  published  in 
"Judicial  Statistics,"  throw  considerable  doubt  upon  the 
Police  Returns  under  the  heading  "  Indictable  Offences." 


STATISTICS   OF   MURDER   AND    SELF-MURDER.  1 03 

In  the  eight  years — 1858-65 — the  Coroners  return  600 
inquests  resulting  in  verdicts  of  Wilful  Murder  in  Middlesex 
alone,  while  the  Police  officials  return  but  79  within  the  same 
period  for  the  whole  Metropolitan  District  and  the  City  of 
London.  Can  it  be  for  this  reason  that  the  crime  of  murder 
is  excluded  from  the  category  "  of  graver  offences "  in  Sir 
Richard's  letter  to  the  Home  Secretary  ?  Was  he  unable 
to  decide  precisely  whether  the  number  should  be  stated  at  79 
or  considerably  more  than  600  ?  Or  did  he  find  it  difficult 
satisfactorily  to  account  for  the  apparent  escape  of  over  521 
murderers  from  justice  in  the  last  eight  years?  We  must 
decline  any  attempt  to  elucidate  that  which  we  are  unable  to 
comprehend.  But  this  at  least  would  appear  to  be  revealed — 
that  the  Police  guarantee  for  the  sanctity  of  human  life  is 
not  what  it  should  be. 

Passing  from  the  crime  of  murder  to  that  of  self-murder, 
we  are  involved  in  a  series  of  incongruities  and  apparent  im- 
probabilities which  baffle  our  ingenuity  to  explain  and  to 
reconcile.  Turning  to  "  Judicial  Statistics,"  we  find  that  the 
following  attempts  to  commit  suicide  are  duly  recorded  by 
the  Police  among  the  Indictable  offences  : — 

SUICIDK,    ATTEMPTING  TO  COMMIT. 

Metropolitan                          City  of 
Police  District.                        London. 
1859    2    49 

i860  4  34 

1861  I  43 

1862  328  36 

1863  324  O 

1864  355  4I 

1865  342  27 

Totals 1,356  230 


i04 


THE    CORONERS'    RETURNS. 


The  above  table  is  limited  to  the  attempts  at  suicide 
constituting  the  criminal  offence.  But  it  is  curious  to  con- 
trast the  actual  amount  of  criminality  as  evidenced  by  the 
verdicts  of  Coroners'  Juries  with  that  recorded  in  the  Tables 
of  Crime. 

And  we  think  it  may  be  as  well  to  subjoin  the  following 
account  of  suicides  and  attempts  at  suicide  from  two  distinct 
pages  of  the  authorized  record  of  the  criminal  statistics  of 
the  Metropolis  : — 


County  of  Middlesex 
and  Southwark. 

City  of  London. 

Total  Suicides  and 

Attempted  Suicides  in 

Seven  Years.* 

"  Judicial 

1    "Judicial 

"  Judicial 

Statistics." 

Coroners' 

Statistics." 

Coroners* 

Statistics." 

Coroners' 

Police 

Account. 

Police 

Account. 

Police 

Account. 

Account. 

Account. 

Account. 

1859 

2 

204 

49 

19 

|           5I 

223 

i860 

4 

217 

1         34 

25 

38 

242 

1861 

■          « 

190 

43 

23 

I           " 

213 

1862 

328 

170 

36 

18 

364 

188 

1863 

324 

200 

0 

14 

324 

214 

1864 

355 

2l6 

4i 

II 

396 

227 

1865 

342 

224 

27 

7 

369 

231 

i»356 

1,421 

1 

230 

117 

J       1,586               1,538 

*  In  Table  IV.  of  "  Judicial  Statistics  "  for  this  year  (page  16)  the  Police 
report  O  against  the  City  of  London.  In  the  Coroners'  report,  in  the 
same  volume,  under  the  head  "Middlesex"  (page  40)  we  have  "City  of 
London  and  Borough  of  Southwark,  23."  And  as  we  have  ascertained 
from  the  Coroner  for  London  and  Southwark  that  he  returned  9  for  South- 
wark, it  is  tolerably  clear  that,  instead  of  O  on  this  table,  the  return  ought 
to  have  been  14.  |But  it  is  wearisome  work  to  track  the  countless 
inconsistencies  of  this  description  to  their  sources. 


STRANGE    RETURNS    IN    "JUDICIAL  S."  105 

It  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  above  table,  that  in  the 
last  seven  years,  the  Coroners  for  Middlesex  and  Southward 
have  recorded  1,538  verdicts  of  self-murder.  Of  these  1,421 
were  chargeable  to  the  Metropolitan  Police  District,  and  117 
to  the  City  of  London,  i.e.,  92  4  per  cent,  to  the  former, 
and  7*6  per  cent,  to  the  latter. 

Taking  the  Coroners'  reports  for  the  first  three  of  these 
years  (1859 — 61)  we  have — 

Suicides  in  parts  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  District     611 
„  „  the  City  of  London  „  67 

But  if  we  contrast  these  figures  with  the  Police  returns 
in  "  Judicial  Statistics,"  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
Metropolitan  District  is  credited  with  but  7  instead  0/611; 
whilst  the  City  is  charged  with  126  instead  of  67  of  these 
cases  of  self-murder.  How  are  these,  proportions  to  be 
explained  ? 

The  subsequent  four  years  give  as  the    Coroners'  totals — 
Suicides  in  the    Metropolitan   Police   District     810 
„  „         City  of  London  „  50 

Whilst  the  Police  returns  give  to  the  District  of  the  Metro- 
polis 1,349,  and  assign  104  to  the  City.  How  is  this  to  be 
explained  ? 

We  have  thus  the  Coroners  of  Middlesex  in  direct  an- 
tagonism with  the  authorities  of  the  Police,  as  regards  the 
proportions  of  these  crimes ;  and  we  have,  apparently,  "  Judi- 
cial Statistics  "  contradicting  itself. 

It  will  be  further  noticed  that  the  Police  average  of  suicides 
in  the  Metropolitan  District  for  the  three  years,  1859 — 61,  was 
2  J  per  annum,  and  that  for  the  four  years,  1862 — 65,  it  was 


106  EXTRANEOUS    INFLUENCES    ON    SUICIDES. 

337  per  annum  !  Now,  is  it  likely  that  there  should  have  been 
but  one  suicide  in  the  Metropolitan  District  in  1861,  and  three 
hundred  and  fifty-five  in  1864?  Yet  the  totals  of  the  seven 
years  are  nearly  alike,  which  proves  that  cooking  has  not 
been  resorted  to  j  or  surely  on  the  principle,  "  in  for  a  penny 
in  for  a  pound,"  the  result  would  have  been  made  to  demon- 
strate, statistically,  its  own  accuracy.* 

Some  very  curious  inquiries  might  be  beneficially  pro- 
secuted by  amateur  statisticians  upon  the  singular  discrepan- 
cies, as  they  appear  to  be,  presented  by  this  tabular  record  of 
despondency  and  desperation  in  the  County  of  Middlesex. 
Taking  the  years  1861  and  1862,  it  may  be  asked — by  what 
moral,  meteorological  or  psychological  influences  so  great 
mental  depression  and  physical  prostration  were  produced  as 
to  increase  these  attempts  in  the  latter  year,  thirty-two 
thousand  eight  hundred  per  cent,  above  those  of  the  former  year  ? 
Again,  to  what  statistical  eccentricity  are  we  to  attribute  the 
placing  in  juxta-position  for  1861  of  1   unsuccessful  and   190 


*  In  these  statistics  the  Suicides  given  by  the  Middlesex  Coroners  do 
not  include  those  of  the  entire  Metropolitan  Police  District,  nine  of  the 
Districts  of  the  Board  of  Works  being  omitted — viz.,  Southwark,  Ber- 
mondsey,  Newington,  Lambeth,  Wandsworth,  Camberwell  and  Rother- 
hithe,  in  Surrey ;  and  Greenwich  and  Lewisham,  in  Kent — which  not 
being  in  the  County  of  Middlesex,  are  not  included  in  the  returns  of 
the  Coroners  of  that  County.  Nor  are  the  inquests  held  in  those  districts 
reported  separately  in  "Judicial  Statistics,"  under  Surrey  or  Kent.  Hence 
we  are  unable  to  state  the  precise  amount  of  Suicides  to  be  added  to  those 
of  Middlesex,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  totals  of  the  Metropolitan  Police 
District.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  in  the  tables  of  Inquests,  the 
Borough  of  Southwark,  which  is  in  Surrey,  is  given  under  the  head 
Middlesex  ;  and,  being  linked  with  the  City  of  London,  its  Suicides  (90  in 
the  last  seven  years)  are  recorded  against  the  City  of  London,  to  which 
they  do  not  belong,  instead  of  against  the  Metropolitan  District,  to  which 
they  do  belong— Southwark  being  within  its  area.  The  returns  for  the  two 
districts  might  surely  be  given  separately. 


THE    CRIMES-PER-HOUSE    FALLACY,    AGAIN.  107 

successful  attempts  at  suicide  ?  And  that  problem  satisfactorily 
solved,  how,  we  would  ask,  is  it  to  be  accounted  for  that,  in 
the  ensuing  year,  and  for  the  three  following  years,  the 
criminal  failures  exceeded  the  criminal  successes  by  more  than 
a  hundred  per  annum  ?  We  refer  these  considerations  to  the 
intelligent  investigation  of  the  Editor  of  the  Lancet. 

If  the  cipher  in  the  column  devoted  to  the  City  and  South- 
wark  has  been  correctly  posted  against  the  year,  1863,  the 
white  kid  gloves  are  clearly  due  to  some  "  putter  down " 
of  suicide  in  the  City  of  London  ;  or  on  the  other  hand,  may 
we  not  suggest,  as  the  more  probable  hypothesis,  that  the 
return  was  dropped  between  the  City  and  the  Home  Office, 
and  that  no  further  inquiries  have  been  instituted. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  Coroners  of  Middlesex  return 
in  1 86 1  the  annual  number  of  49  deaths  from  "excessive 
drinking,"  whilst  those  of  the  City  including  Southwark, 
record  but  2  cases  annually  of  a  like  description. 

Paragraph  XL — "(Graver  Offences  Continued)  Ratio  to  Houses ." 

' '  Of  offences  in  houses,  namely,  burglary,  housebreaking,  breaking  into 
' '  shops,  warehouses,  larceny  to  the  value  of  ^5  in  dwelling-houses,  and 
' '  *  other  felonies  and  misdemeanours'  (so  specified  in  the  '  Judicial  Statis- 
"  tics'),  the  numbers  were — in  the  Metropolitan  District,  1,168;  in  the 
"City,  104,  being  in  the  following  ratio  : — Metropolitan  District,  of  1  to 
"  360,  or  277  per  cent,  of  the  inhabited  houses ;  City,  of  I  to  127,  or  782 
"per  cent,  of  the  inhabited  houses." 

It  is  singular  that  the  offences  selected  to  compare  with 
the  number  of  nouses,  should  omit  "  Sacrilege "  and  "  at- 
tempts to  break  into  houses,  shops,"  etc.,  whilst  it  includes  the 
indefinite  offence  of  "other  felonies  and  misdemeanours;" 
has  this  very  singular  selection  been  adopted  because  the 
latter  class  told  against  the  City,  whilst  the  former  are  20  to  1 
against  the  Metropolitan  Police  District  ? 


108,  ALLEGED    CRIMINALITY    OF    CITY. 

We  have  no  difficulty  in  meeting  and  disposing  of  any 
fact,  or  assumed  fact,  contained  in  this  letter,  or  in  any  of 
its  paragraphs — certainly  not  with  the  house-and-crime-fallacy, 
but  we  confess  to  an  incapacity  as  regards  Sir  Richard's 
ratios  and  percentages.  What  is  intended  by  277  and  782 
per  cent,  of  the  inhabited  houses,  passes  our  comprehension. 
The  number  of  houses  in  the  Metropolis  has,  as  we  have 
shewn,  been  very  variously  stated;  but,  taking  them  at  the 
lowest  figure  quoted,  viz.,  360,089  +  14,483  (for  the  City) 
=374,572,  and  increasing  them  in  the  specified  ratios  of  277 
and  782  per  cent,  (aggregated),  we  arrive  at  3,966,717 
houses.  So  that,  if  graver  crimes  are  in  this  relation  to 
houses,  we  have  3,966,717  crimes  to  12,232  criminals,  the 
total  number  indicted.* 

Paragraph  XII. — "  Crimes   of  Every   Description  higher  in  the 
City  than  in  the  Metropolitan  District" 

"It  is  thus  shewn  that  the  crimes  of  a  serious  character,  both  those 
"  against  persons  and  houses,  as  well  as  crimes  of  every  description,  are 
"relatively  to  population  and  houses  much  higher,  in  the  City  than  in  the 
"  Metropolitan  District.  The  inference  is,  that  the  Metropolitan  Police  are 
"  more  efficient  than  the  City  Police  for  the  prevention  of  crime.  The 
"  percentage  of  the  persons  apprehended  who  are  committed  for  trial  is 
"much  greater  in  the  Metropolitan  District  than  in  the  City.  These 
"  results  shew  that  a  greater  number  of  persons  are  improperly  apprehended 
1 '  in  the  City.  The  Metropolitan  Police  act  with  better  discretion,  and 
' '  more  regard  to  the  evidence  against  the  persons  apprehended.  For  the 
"  accuracy  of  the  calculations  and  results  which  I  have  stated,  and  for 
"  other  calculations  and  interesting  deductions  on  these  matters,  I  beg  to 
"  refer  to  a  paper  attached,  by  Mr.  Frederick  Purdy,  Secretary  to  the 
"  Statistical  Society,  and  the  Statistical  Clerk  to  the  Poor-Law  Board,  to 
*'  whom  I  referred  the  returns  for  examination  and  correction."  f 

*  "Judicial  Statistics,"  1861,  p.  10. 

t  We  think  it  is  due  to  Mr.  F.  Purdy,  and  to  the  statistical  clerk  of  the 
Poor-Law  Board,  to  state  that  we  do  not  find  their  names  attached  to  any 
copy  of  the  letter  under  review,  vouching  for  the  accuracy  of  the  figures 
therein  contained. 


RELATIVE   NUMBER  OF  PUBLIC    nor  109 

"  It  is  thus  shewn  "  is  easily  written.  But  nothing  can 
be  said  to  be  shewn  at  all,  if  nothing  be  seen.  Sir  Richard 
has  been  dealing  only  with  the  Indictable  offences  for  a 
particular  year.  But  the  offences  subject  to  the  summary 
jurisdiction  of  the  magistracy  are  eight  times  as  numerous  as 
those  to  which  it  has  pleased  the  Chief  Commissioner  to 
direct  attention  ;  and  whilst  it  has  been  shewn  that  but  little 
is  known  in  Scotland  Yard  of  the  statistics  of  those  12,232 
cases,  it  would  seem  that  nothing  whatever  is  known  there  of 
the  85,086  offenders  who  in  that  same  year,  1861,  were  made 
amenable  to  the  criminal  law  in  this  City  and  Metropolis. 

The  diminution  of  the  incentives  to  crime  and  the  removal 
of  facilities  for  its  perpetration  and  concealment,  are  among 
the  obvious  means  by  which  the  criminal  element  of  a  popu- 
lation may  be  reduced  to  its  minimum.  And  it  would  seem, 
from  numerous  comparisons  already  made,  that  this  degree  of 
relative  perfection  has  been  well  nigh  attained  in  the  City  of 
London.  But  there  is  one  illustration  of  this  view  which  has 
not  been  hitherto  mooted,  and  to  which  we  think  attention 
should  be  directed. 

The  Census  return  of  186 1  informs  us  that — 

The  Publicans  and  Beersellers  of 

the  Metropolitan  District  number  8,844,  or  J  to  29x  persons; 
Whilst  those  of  the  City  of  London 

number  616,  or  1  in  1,052  persons. 

Here  we  have  a  manifest  inducement  to  inebriety  and 
possible  criminality  promoted  by  the  magistracy  and  licensing 
authorities,  in  the  excessive  ratio  of  260  per  cent,  over  the 
ratio  within  the  City  of  London. 


110  THIEVES    IN    EMBRYO. 

It  will  not,  therefore,  appear  surprising  that,  of  the  pri- 
soners prosecuted,  there  is  a  much  larger  proportion  of  them 
in  the  Metropolitan  Police  District  who  are  returned  to  the 
Home  Secretary  as  "  Habitual  Drunkards. "  And,  accordingly, 
we  find  in  "Judicial  Statistics  "  the  subjoined  statement  :— 

1  Class  of  persons  proceeded  against  on  Indictment  and  Summarily:' 
"habitual  drunkards." 
Metropolitan  Police  District  (annual  average 

for  the  last  eight  years)    3^51 

City  of  London  (ditto)  94 

Which,  in  the  former  case,  is  1  habitual  drunkard  to  705 ; 
and,  in  the  latter,  1  to  6,894  of  the  population.  Cause  and 
effect  were  never  more  clearly  connected. 

We  further  append  to  these  observations  touching  the 
question  of  the  efficiency  of  the  Police,  some  very  cogent  evi- 
dences, we  will  not  say  of  the  greater  efficiency  of  the  City 
Police,  but  of  the  occasion  for  yet  greater  efficiency  in  the 
Police  of  the  Metropolitan  District.  It  is  as  well  to  state  that 
we  still  write  as  "  of  authority,"  for  we  continue  to  quote 
from  Sir  George  Grey's  "Judicial  Statistics  "  for  the  selected 
year,  1861  : — 

"Receivers  of  stolen  goods,  known  to  the  police." 
In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District         232 
In  the  City  of  London ri 

"  Houses  for  the  reception  of  stolen  goods  "— 
In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District         181 
In  the  City  of  London Zl 


their  training-ground.  i  i  1 

"  Brothels  and  houses  of  ill  fame  " — 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District      1,601 
In  the  City  of  London 9 

"Other  houses, the  resort  of  thieves  and  prostitutes" — 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District         567 
In  the  City  of  London 44 

"  Known  thieves  and  depredators  " — 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District      2,961 
In  the  City  of  London 57 

"  Suspected  persons  at  large  " — 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District      1,974 
In  the  City  of  London 51 

"  Prostitutes  "  (known  or  suspected  as  Depredators,  etc.) — 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District      7,096 
In  the  City  of  London 28 

If  we  call  the  City  one-seventh  of  the  Metropolis  (it 
is  about  that,  combining  rental  and  population)  its  pro- 
portion of  the  grand  total  of  the  above  14,823  would  be 
2,117;  and,  by  so  many  as  its  actual  number  may  fall 
short  of  these,  will  be  the  excess  of  the  Metropolitan 
Police  District  in  these  curses  of  civilization,  these  hin- 
drances to  advancement,  these  dangers  and  nuisances  to 
our   Christian    commonwealth.       Instead   of    a   seventh   part, 


112 


NEEDED  SUPPRESSION  OF  THE  INCENTIVES  TO  CRIME. 


2,117,  the  actual  share  of  the  City  is  seen  to  be  only  211— 
only  a  seventieth  part— the  Metropolitan  Police  District  having 
sixty-nine  times  the  proportion  of  its  municipal  neighbour 
in  these  disreputable,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  preventable 
elements  ! 

With  what  grace  can  Sir  Richard  Mayne  inform  Sir 
George  Grey  that  "the  Metropolitan  Police  are  more  efficient 
than  the  City  Police  for  the  prevention  of  crime"— or  for  any 
purpose  within  the  legitimate  scope  of  their  duty?  With 
what  face  can  Mr.  Edwin  Chadwick  pledge  himself  to  Mr. 
Ayrton's  Committee  that  he  knew  the  statistics  of  the  Chief 
Commissioner  were  to  be  depended  upon  ? 

We  take  leave  to  suggest  to  Sir  Richard  Mayne  that  as  he 
knows  of  fourteen  thousand  causes  or  incentives  to  crime  in  his 
district,  that  his  Force  will  not  have  merited  his  compliment  nor 
justified  his  self-laudation  until  "Judicial  Statistics"  shall 
bear  witness  to  the  reduction  of  this  monstrous  army  of 
inducements  and  aids  to  crime,  by  at  least  one-half.  He  could 
not  better  prevent  crime  than  by  the  suppression  of  the 
notorious  encouragers  and  haunts  of  his  criminals  j  and,  how- 
ever honourable  and  admirable  his  motive  may  have  been  for 
writing  the  letter  under  review,  we  think  that,  if  he  had  devoted 
the  time  occupied  in  its  preparation  to  the  uprooting  of  a  few 
of  the  nests  of  vice  which  demoralise  and  disgrace  his  district, 
the  community  would  have  been  the  gainers. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  upon  many  grounds,  that  Sir 
Richard  Mayne  had  not  entered  upon  a  crusade  to  put  down 
the  public  enemy,  or  to  co-operate  with  the  Magistracy 
for  the   prevention   of   many   of  these    incentives   to   crime 


PERCENTAGE   OF   CRIME    IN    CITY   AND    METROPOLIS.        113 

before  undertaking  the  office  of  censor  upon  others,  who 
have  shewn  themselves  to  be  more  practical  and  more  success- 
ful than  himself. 

This  will  be  made  apparent  upon  an  examination  of  the 
subjoined  table  of  Indictable  Offences. 

We  desire  to  reiterate  that  the  annexed  table  is  based 
upon  the  figures  of  the  Home  Secretary ;  that  it  enumerates 
all  the  Indictable  offences  of  the  last  eight  years,  and  not 
merely  of  a  selected  year ;  that  the  classification  is  that  of  Sir 
George  Grey  and  not  that  of  Sir  Richard  Mayne ;  and  that 
the  comparative  efficiency  of  the  City  Police,  as  tried  by 
this  test,  is  demonstrated  beyond  all  question. 

The  results  of  the  table  are  instructive  in  every  respect, 
but  the  following  may  be  pointed  out  as  particularly  striking : 

In  class  i  (the  gravest  crimes  of  the  Murder 
class)  there  were  chargeable,  to  the  Metro- 
politan Police  District 95-6  per  cent. 

To  the  City  of  London    only       4-4  per  cent. 

100 
In  class   2   (the  class  of  Burglary,   Highway 

Robbery,  etc.)  there  were  chargeable,  to  the 

Metropolitan  Police  District 92*0  per  cent. 

To  the  City  of  London  8*o  per  cent. 

100 

% 

In  classes  3  to  6  (comprising  the  less  aggravated 

offences)   there    were    chargeable,   to   the 

Metropolitan  Police  District 91*6  per  cent. 

To  the  City  of  London  8*4  per  cent 

100 

8 


114  ENLARGEMENT    OF    SCOPE    OF    INQUIRY. 

It  will  be  observed,  not  only  that  the  percentage  of  crime 
in  the  City  is  extremely  small,  but  that,  small  as  it  is,  it  be- 
comes still  less  as  the  gravity  of  crime  increases. 

The  reverse  is  the  case  as  it  regards  the  Metropolitan 
Police  District.  To  take  the  case  of  Class  i — the  gravest 
offences  against  the  person — the  proportion  of  those  crimes 
relatively  to  the  population,  should  have  been  in  eight  years 
2,973,  the  crimes  actually  committed  were  3,558,  being  an 
excess  of  585  crimes  of  this  class  chargeable  to  the  Metropo- 
litan Police  District — an  excess  of  20  per  cent. 


If  the  reader  will  refer  a  few  pages  back,  he  will  find  that 
in  our  remarks  upon  the  sixth  paragraph  of  Sir  Richard 
Mayne's  letter,  we  complained  that  he  had  confined  his  in- 
quiries to  a  selected  year,  and  to  a  selected  and  small  portion 
of  the  criminal  statistics  of  that  year;  and  we  promised  that 
after  refuting  his  conclusions  from  such  inadequate  (not  to 
say  unfair)  data,  we  should  enlarge  the  scope  of  our  inquiry, 
so  as  to  include  all  the  offences  for  the  extended  period  of  the 
last  eight  years. 

We  proceed  to  the  fulfilment  of  our  pledge. 

Having  hitherto,  in  a  spirit  of  accommodation,  restricted 
our  investigation  to  the  100,875  cases  of  the  criminal  popula- 
tion, we  propose  shortly  to  direct  attention  to  the  much 
larger  number' of  740,684  offenders  to  whom  the  Chief  Com- 
missioner has  not  condescended  to  apply  his  powers  of  in- 
vestigation. We  feel  bound  to  supplement  his  partial  return 
by  the  inquiry — why  has  the  great  bulk  of  our  criminal 
population  been  ignored  ?  and  by  the  subjoined  tabular 
reply  : — 


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Il6  RELATIVE   PERCENTAGE    OF    CONVICTIONS. 

It  will  be  seen  that  by  adding  the  numbers  of  the  Indict- 
able offences  (100,875)  to  tne  offences  Summarily  determined 
by  the  Magistracy  (740,684),  we  have  the  aggregate  of  our 
criminal  population  for  the  last  eight  years — viz.,  841,559. 
This  will  give  us  an  annual  average  of  105,195,  whilst  Sir 
Richard  Mayne  limits  the  scope  of  his  inquiry  and  report  to 
the  12,232  Indictable  offenders  in  the  year  1861.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  the  Chief  Commissioner  had  excluded  all 
the  cases  of  murder,  and  included  all  the  cases  of  larceny 
from  the  person ;  and  we  now  direct  attention  to  the  fact  that 
he  has  omitted  from  all  his  calculations  88  per  cent,  of 
the  criminals,  duly  registered  in  the,  Police  returns  published 
by  the  Home  Secretary.  There  must  have  been  some  suffi- 
cient reason  why  a  public  functionary  should  thus  evade 
the  real  object  of  inquiry. 

The  table  likewise  demonstrates  that  a  much  larger  pro- 
portion of  the  criminals  apprehended  by  the  City  Police  are 
ultimately  convicted  than  those  apprehended  by  the  Metro- 
politan Forqe.  The  proportion  of  efficient  apprehensions 
being : — 

In  the  City    737  per  cent. 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District     54*0         „ 

The  table  further  informs  us  that  the  proportion  of 
inefficient  apprehensions — i.e.,  those  not  convicted — is  also 
largely  in  favour  of  the  City  Force.  The  proportions  of 
inefficient  apprehensions  being  : — 

In  the  City    26*2  per  cent. 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District     45*9         „ 

That  the  City  Police  has  not  deteriorated  during  the  last 
fifteen  years — that  it  is,  as  a  Force,  even  more  efficiently  ad- 


IMPROVEMENT    UNDER    COLONEL    FRASER.  117 

ministered  by  Colonel  Fraser,  its  present  experienced  Chief 
will  be  apparent  from  the  subjoined  figures,  furnished  by  Mr. 
D.  W.  Harvey,  the  late  Chief  Commissioner,  to  the  Royal 
Commission  of  1854.  Indeed,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  City  of 
London  has  materially  improved  its  relative  position,  as  it 
regards  efficiency,  within  that  period  : — 

"The  number  of  persons  taken  before  the  Magistrates  by  the  City 
"  Police,  for  the  ten  years  ending  1852,  was  51,677  ;  in  the  Metropolitan 

"  Police,  660,764. We   find  that  there  were  Discharged  in   the   City 

"  20,346,  or  above  39  per  cent,  of  those  apprehended.  As  regards  the 
"  Metropolitan  District,  they  were  Discharged  at  the  rate  of  50  per  cent., 

"the  number  being  333,960. So,  again,  with  respect  to  those  sum- 

"marily  Convicted;  the  proportion  is  52  per  cent,  in  the  City;  in  the 
"Metropolitan  Districts  it  is  42." 

No  person  who  shall  have  carefully  studied  the  above  facts 
will  hereafter  attach  any  importance  to  Sir  Richard's  insinua- 
tion that  "  the  number  of  persons  improperly  apprehended  by 
the  City  Police,  is  double  that  so  apprehended  by  the  Metro- 
politan Police ; "  or,  his  assertion  that  "  they  [the  Metropolitan 
Police]  get  up  their  evidence  more  satisfactorily ; "  or  that 
"  less  than  one-half  of  those  apprehended  by  the  City  Police 
are  committed  for  trial ;  "  or,  that  "  half  the  number  of  persons 
apprehended  by  the  City  Police  were  discharged  by  the 
Magistrates ; "  or,  that  "  the  Metropolitan  Police  are  more 
efficient  than  the  City  Police  for  the  prevention  of  crimes." 

To  statistics  Sir  Richard  appealed ;  to  statistics  he  has 
been  remanded ;  by  statistics  he  stands  condemned. 


Il8  SUPPRESSED    PARAGRAPH. 

"  Corrected"  "Judicial  Statistics." 

"  I  had  occasion  lately  to  call  your  attention  to  an  error  in  the  last 
"  volume  of  the  '  Judicial  Statistics,'  presented  to  Parliament  for  the  year 
"  1 86 1,  as  to  the  average  annual  cost  per  man  of  the  Metropolitan  and 
' '  City  Police  Force,  which  was  stated  to  be  £78  3s.  2d.  in  the  Metropolitan 
"  and £jg  4s.  yd.  in  the  City  Police,  making  the  difference  only  £1  is.  5d. 
"  These  results  were  obtained  by  dividing  the  total  expenditure  of  the  respec- 
"  tive  establishments  by  the  number  of  the  Police  of  each  Force,  but  in  the 
"accounts  of  the  expenditure  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Establishment 
• '  there  are  several  sums  of  a  very  large  amount  which  do  not  relate  to  the 
"  cost  of  the  police  constable,  and  there  are  none  similar  in  the  City  Police 
' '  accounts,  on  which  the  calculation  was  made  with  regard  to  the  City 
"  Force  ;  the  error  will  be  corrected  in  the  forthcoming  volume  of  '  Judicial 
"Statistics.'" 


The  above  extract,  suppressed  by  Mr.  Chadwick  in  the 
letter  of  Sir  Richard  Mayne  submitted  to  the  Select  Com- 
mitte  of  the  House  of  Commons,  introduces  us  to  a  more 
serious  branch  of  inquiry  than  any  which  have  engaged  our 
attention  hitherto.  We  have  attributed  the  inaccuracies,  incon- 
sistencies and  fallacies  pointed  out,  to  want  of  consideration, 
defective  information,  or  inexperience  in  the  use  of  statistics — 
which,  like  edged  tools,  are  apt  to  cut  the  fingers  of  those  who 
unskilfully  meddle  with  them.  The  above  paragraph,  however, 
appears  to  suggest  an  intention  to  invent  statistics  for 
an  occasion — which,  connected  with  other  circumstances, 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  Sir  Richard  entertained 
a  foregone  conclusion  in  favour  of  his  own  economical 
management,  and  desired  to  support  it,  by  doctoring  the 
"  Judicial  Statistics  "  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Home 
Department. 

We  are  not,  as  a  nation,  so  well  practised,  as  some  of  our 
neighbours,  in  the  use  and  complication  of  Statistics — as  all 
connected  with  the  science  are  aware.     Our  statistical  tables, 


PERVERTED    STATISTICS.  IIO 

however,  if  few  and  far  from  elaborate,  have  usually  been 
considered  reliable;  and  it  is  with  regret  that  we  confess  to 
having  our  faith  rudely  shaken  by  the  investigation  which 
Mr.  Chadwick  has  imposed  upon  us. 

That  we  should  find  the  tables  free  from  error,  we  were 
not  so  inexperienced  as  to  expect ;  that  any  could  enter  upon 
such  thorny  paths  without  an  occasional  stumble,  we  were 
not  so  unreasonable  as  to  assume. 

"  The  best  may  slip,  and  the  most  cautious  fall ; 
He's  more  than  mortal  that  ne'er  err'd  at  all." 

But  we  did  expect,  and  we  had  a  right  to  assume,  that 
official  tables,  prepared  at  great  cost  of  public  money,  should, 
if  not  free  from  inaccuracy,  be  at  least  placed  beyond  the  reach 
of  perversion,  for  the  promulgation  of  a  fallacy,  or  the  grati- 
fication of  a  whim.  Statistics  which  are  unreliable,  are  blind 
guides  and  false  lights  indeed. 

The  "  error,"  it  will  be  seen,  concerns  the  cost  per  man  of 
the  Metropolitan  Police  Force,  for  the  year  1861.  It  was 
stated  in  the  "Judicial  Statistics"  for  1861  to  be  ^78  3s.  2d. 
This  sum  Sir  Richard  thought  too  high,  and  hence  his 
determination  to  have  the  cost  reduced  in  amount  by 
correction  in  the  volume  for  1862. 

We  have  shewn,  already,  how  Sir  Richard  reduces  his 
cost  per  man  for  1861  from  ^77  10s.  5d.,  its  real  amount,  to 
^65  9s.  3d.,  its  hypothetical  amount.*  We  need  not  therefore 
retrace  our  steps  in  relation  to  that  argument  or  that  year. 


*  Vide  pp.  75—80. 


120  INTERPOLATION    IN    "JUDICIAL    STATISTICS." 

It  is  with  the  volume  of  "  Judicial  Statistics "  for  the  year 
1862  that  we  are  now  concerned,  and  with  the  simple 
question  of  the  correction  of  an  erroneous  entry  in  the 
volume  of  the  preceding  year.  Turning  to  the  tables  for 
1862  in  search  of  the  predicted  emendation,  we  find  the 
object  of  our  search — not  amongst  the  Police  returns — but 
introduced  between  the  Coroners'  Inquests  and  the  Tables  of 
Crimes,  under  the  unassuming  and  unsuggestive  heading  of 
"  Statements  furnished  by  the  Commissioner  of  Police  of  the 
Metropolis  and  the  Receiver."  We  are  unable  to  refer 
to  the  page,  for  we  observe  that  the  "  statements  " 
were  interpolated,  as  it  would  seem,  after  the  Report  had 
been  presented  to  Her  Majesty,  and,  after  printing — as 
they  are  inserted  irrespectively  of  the  numbering  of  the 
pages,  and  no  reference  to  them  is  found  in  any  of  the 
Tables  of  Contents.  It  is  never  too  late  to  do  a  right  thing 
— so  thought  Sir  Richard ;  and,  though  late  in  its  insertion 
— almost  too  late  to  clothe  it  with  the  stamp  of  authority — 
yet  we  welcome  the  paper  as  a  clue  to  the  elucidation 
of  a  correction  in  an  interesting  statistical  document 

It  would  appear  that  Sir  Richard,  by  the  document  inter- 
polated as  above,  suggested  to  the  Home  Secretary  the 
deduction  of  items,  amounting  in  all  to  ,£72,558,  from  the 
total  cost  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  for  the  year  in  question 
and  thus  arrived  at  an  estimate  which  he  was  pleased  to 
regard  as  the  actual  total  cost  of  his  Force.  These  figures 
agree  with  those  in  Table  A  of  his  letter  to  Sir  George 
Grey. 

There  is,  however,  an  inconsistency,  as  a  matter  of  account 


A    FOG   OF    FIGURES.  12  1 

in  this  transaction  which  strikes  us  as  singular,  but  which  is, 
perhaps,  susceptible  of  explanation — that  the  total  cost  of  the 
Police,  as  given  in  "Judicial  Statistics,"  is  that  for  the  year 
ending  the  29th  of  September,  1861,  whilst  the  items  abated 
are  those  given  in  the  accounts  of  the  Police  as  for  the  year 
ending  the  31st  of  December,  1861.  We  do  not  possess, 
therefore,  the  figures  of  any  complete  year,  and  inasmuch  as 
the  number  of  men  composing  the  Force  at  Michaelmas 
differed  from  those  at  the  close  of  the  year,  we  are  precluded, 
for  both  reasons,  from  following  the  correction  so  as  to  test 
its  accuracy.  The  total  cost  per  man  for  1862  is  equally 
inscrutable  ;  the  document  interpolated  in  the  volume  for  that 
year  gives  it  at  £62  7s.  3d.,  and  figures  are  exhibited  to 
justify  that  estimate ;  but  they  are  not  borne  out  by  the  facts 
stated  in  the  tables  of  "Judicial  Statistics,"  which  give 
^74  ns.  3d.  as  the  total  cost  per  man. 

An  impenetrable  mist  appears  to  pervade  the  whole  subject. 
It  would  seem  that,  as  the  Goddess  Venus  once  manifested 
her  maternal  solicitude  for  her  favourite  son  ^neas,  by 
covering  him  with  a  cloud,  and  conveying  him  beyond 
the  reach  of  harm,  so  Sir  George  Grey  condescended,  in 
1863,  to  involve  Sir  Richard  Mayne,  and  the  circumstances 
of  the  cost  of  his  Metropolitan  Force,  in  a  fog  of  figures — 
thus  screening  him  from  the  consequences  of  his  imprudence 
in  meddling  with  statistics,  and  protecting,  from  the  eyes 
of  the  uninitiated,  the  secret  of  the  "  cost  per  man "  to  this 
day. 

This  is,  however,  a  serious  matter;  though  we  may  have 
appeared  to  treat  it  jocularly.  It  must  be  evident  that 
statistics,  to  be  of  any  value  whatever,  should  be  above  the 


12  2  STATISTICS    BY    ESTIMATE. 

reach  of  suspicion.  They  are  the  product  of  a  compilation  of 
hard,  unyielding  facts  ;  the  science  is  allied  by  the  closest  ties 
to  those  termed  "  exact,"  and  there  is  no  place  or  scope 
within  its  province  for  the  exercise  of  taste  or  fancy.  The 
introduction  of  an  estimate  into  the  region  of  fact  and 
exactitude  involved  in  "Judicial  Statistics,"  removes  that 
work,  since  1862,  from  the  position  it  has  been  supposed 
to  occupy,  as  a  stern,  impassive,  judicial  monitor,  pointing 
with  unswerving  finger  to  the  spots  in  our  social  condition. 
It  has,  by  this  one  act  of  compliance  with  the  whim  of  Sir 
Richard  Mayne,  been  lowered  from  its  proper  position,  to 
rank  with  works  of  fancy — if  not  of  fiction.  It  should  hence- 
forth be  removed  from  the  scientific  shelf  in  our  libraries — 
from  the  companionship  of  Mill's  "  Logic,"  and  Colenso's 
"Algebra" — to  take  its  stand  beside  the  "  Pleasures  of  Hope," 
or  Akenside  "  On  the  Imagination." 

We  should  do  Mr.  Leslie  the  justice  of  saying  that  in  his 
introduction  to  the  "  Statistics "  he  has  fairly  designated 
the  corrected  figure  as  an  estimate.  The  Commissioner 
and  the  Receiver  of  the  Metropolitan  Police,  he  says,  "have 
furnished  statements  shewing  items  of  general  expenditure, 
which  they  consider  should  be  excluded  in  estimating  the  cost 
per  man."  This  is  honest  on  the  part  of  the  compiler  of  the 
tables.  But  what  becomes  of  the  value  of  the  comparative 
costs  of  the  respective  Police  Forces  and  their  Establish- 
ments ? 

If  a  London  Commissioner  is  to  deduct  cost  of  "  horses," 
why  not  a  County  Chief  Constable  the  like  cost  of  mounting 
and  conveyance  ?  If,  in  the  judgment  of  Sir  Richard  and  the 
Receiver  of  the  Metropolitan  Police,  "  medicines,"  "  straw 
and  sawdust  for  stations,"  "  female  searchers,"  and  "  washing 


CORRECTION    OF   ACCOUNTS.  1 23 

towels"  are  not  police  charges  proper,  who  is  to  forbid  a 
Borough  Head  Constable  exercising  his  judgment  as  it  regards 
scrubbing-brushes,  soap,  hay,  white-lead,  pipeclay,  or  any 
other  conceivable  or  inconceivable  item  of  abatement.  If 
"purchase  and  erection  of  stations"  be  considered  an  item 
not  proper  to  Metropolitan  expenditure,  then  rent  of  stations — 
an  item  which  falls  with  excessive  severity  on  the  City  Force — 
should  be  excluded  from  the  City's  returns.  The  respective 
Forces,  County  and  Borough,  should,  in  common  fairness, 
receive  instructions  to  modify  their  returns  upon  the  bases 
of  the  corrected  return  in  1862  ;  "  superannuation  and  retired 
allowances,"  "costs  of  apprehension,"  of  runaway  prisoners, 
and  the  other  items  which  are  excluded  from  the  Metropolitan 
return  should  be  also  deducted  elsewhere.  So  that  the  actual 
might  everywhere  give  place  to  the  estimated,  and  the  returns 
be  again  consistent — if  not  correct. 

If,  to  gratify  a  whim  of  the  Chief  Commissioner,  of  shew- 
ing that  his  Force  is  the  cheapest  in  the  kingdom,  he  be 
allowed  to  withdraw  ^70,000  a  year  of  actual  and  admitted 
expenditure  of  his  establishment,  then  the  City  Police  autho- 
rities should  abate  ^7,000  from  their  total  expenditure,  and 
the  County  and  Borough  Forces  a  like  proportion,  of  say 
one-seventh,  of  their  respective  total  outlays.  We  shall  then 
approximate  towards  the  relative  or  comparative  cost,  per 
man,  of  the  respective  establishments. 

Complaints  as  to  the  unreliable  nature  of  the  Police 
returns  in  "  Judicial  Statistics "  reach  us  from  the  provinces. 
Observing  some  remarks  in  the  public  prints  respecting  the 
"statistical"  position  of  Manchester — which  we  knew  to  be  a 
well-ordered  town — we  applied  to  the  authorities  there,  and 
they   obligingly   supplied   us   with   their   last   Report  on  the 


124  COMPLAINTS   OF    "JUDICIAL   STATISTICS. 

Criminal  Statistics  of  the  Town  and  Police.  We  find  in  it 
the  following  remarks  of  the  Chief  Constable,  which  we 
extract  from  his  Annual  Report,  very  recently  rendered. 
They  confirm  every  word  we  have  said  respecting  the  care, 
caution  and  consideration  which  should  be  exercised  in 
making  use  of  the  official  figures  : — 

"  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  advert  in  this  Report  to  the  state  of  Manchester 
"as  regards  crime  in  comparison  with  other  large  towns,  as  it  would 
"appear  from  the  returns  furnished  to  Government  by  the  Police,  which 
"are  published  annually  in  the  'Judicial  Statistics,'  that  the  pro- 
"  portion  of  crime  to  population  is  much  greater  in  this  City  than  in  the 
"Metropolitan  Police  District,  the  City  of  London,  and  most  other  large 
"  Boroughs. 

"  The  Recorder  of  Birmingham,  in  charging  the  Grand  Jury,  at  the 
"  Sessions  in  that  Borough,  last  October,  observed,  in  reference  to  these 
"  Returns,  that  he  could  not  help  thinking  that  the  word  '  Crime  in 
"  'Sheffield,  Leeds  and  Birmingham  was  taken  to  have  a  very  different 
*■* '  meaning  from  what  it  had  in  the  minds  of  those  who  made  the  returns  for 
"  '  Liverpool  and  Manchester.*  This  view  of  the  case  is,  I  believe,  correct ; 
"and  I  shall  endeavour  to  explain  how  it  is  possible  that  different  opinions 
"respecting  crime  can  be,  and  probably  are,  entertained.  The  table 
"  from  which  the  foregoing  figures  are  extracted  is  known  as  the  Table  of 
"Indictable  Offences.  It  is  prepared  annually  for  each  Police  District, 
"  in  conformity  with,  and  under  instructions  received  from  the  Home  Secre- 
' '  tary,  to  whom  the  returns  are  forwarded  in  October  every  year.  In  pre- 
' '  paring  this  return  the  Police  are  instructed  '  to  enter  only  such  cases  as, 
1 * '  in  their  judgment,  from  the  circumstances  attending  them,  would,  if 
"  'discovered,  be  sent  for  trial.' 

"It  will  be  seen  that  a  discretionary  judgment  is  given  to  tb,e  Police 
"  which  it  is  scarcely  possible  for  two  individuals  to  exercise  alike.  They 
"are  called  upon  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  view  a  Magistrate  would  take 
"of  a  case  if  there  were  a  prisoner  to  deal  with,  when  they  have  no 
' '  prisoner,  and  frequently  but  imperfect  details  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
"  robbery  to  assist  them  in  forming  a  judgment" 


CRIME    IN    BRISTOL   AND    BATH.  (  1 25 

It  is  undesirable  to  carry  our  investigations,  as  it  regards 
(rime,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Metropolis.  Were  we  to  do 
so  we  should  require  a  more  extensive  acquaintance,  than  we 
possess,  of  particular  local  circumstances.  We  may,  however, 
point  out  here,  how  evidently  unreliable  are  the  "  Judicial  Sta- 
tistics" as  at  present  gathered,  by  adducing  one  illustration, 
out  of  very  many,  which  present  themselves  : — 

The  adjacent  cities  of  Bristol  and  Bath  are  well  known  to 
be  inhabited  by  populations  of  widely  differing  character — the 
former  a  sea-port  and  trading  town,  largely  frequented  by 
foreign  sailors,  with  all  the  disadvantages  attending  such  con- 
ditions ;  the  latter,  the  selected  place  of  residence  for  retired 
competence,  gentility  and  respectability.  Yet  here  are  the 
results  of  comparison,  as  it  regards  Indictable  crimes,  for  the 
year  1865. 

By  "  Judicial  Statistics,"  Bristol,  with  a  population  of 
154,093,  is  credited  with  261  Indictable  Crimes ;  whilst  Bath, 
with  a  population  of  only  52,528,  is  credited  with  285  such 
crimes  ! 

Bristol  is,  therefore,  charged  with  a  proportion  of  1  crime 
to  590  persons.  Bath  is,  in  like  manner,  credited  with  1 
crime  to  every  184  persons — 

Being  at  the  rate  of,  for  Bristol 24  per  cent. 

„  „  for  Bath 76       „ 

So  that  Bath  is  more  criminal  than  Bristol  in  the  proportion 
of  more  than  3  to  1 !  We  cast  no  imputations;  we  seek  for  no 
causes.  We  simply  state  the  statistical  results  as  they  appear 
by  the   official   Criminal  record.     It  is  for   the   Honourable 


126  RECAPITULATION,    CRIME    AND    POLICE. 

Members  for  Bath  City  to  ascertain  what  influences  are  at 
work  to  demoralize,  or,  it  may  be,  to  defame,  the  fair  City 
which  they  so  worthily  represent. 


Let  us  now  gather  up  some  of  the  leading  results  of, our 
investigation,  as  it  regards  Crime  and  the  Police  in  the  City 
and  in  the  Metropolis. 

We  do  not  find,  distributing  the  amount  of  crime  com- 
mitted in  the  City  amongst  its  residents  and  daily  frequenters, 
that  the  moral  condition  of  those  inhabitants  is  such  as  the 
official  tables  would  appear  to  represent;  much  less  are  the 
appalling  statements  of  Sir  Richard  Mayne  justified  or  con- 
firmed in  the  remotest  degree.  The  reverse  is  the  case — for- 
cibly illustrating  the  adage  respecting  "glass  houses." 

It  appears — 

i.  That  the  cost  per  man  of  the  Police  is  not  "  £13  5  s.  46..,  or 
21  per  cent,  higher  in  the  City  Police"  than  in  the 
Metropolitan  Force.  It  is  found  to  be  but  10s.  2d. 
per  man,  higher,  for  which  trifling  average  additional 
cost,  a  better  class  of  men  and  of  a  higher  standard 
are  obtained. 

2.  That  the  additional  cost  of  the  City  Police  per  head  of  the 

population,  is  not  8s.  4d.,  but  i^d.  less  per  head  of  the 
resident  population  than  the  Metropolitan  Police. 

3.  That  the  cost  per  man  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  is  seen 

to  be  higher  than  that  of  the  City  Police  by  is.  3?d. 


RECAPITULATION,    CRIME   AND    POLICE.  I  27 

per  head,  or  38  per  cent.,  if  the  fluctuating  popula- 
tion of  the  City  is  taken  into  account. 

4.  That  the  additional  annual  cost  to  the  City,  of  ,£8,370,  is 

purely  imaginary. 

5.  That  the  cost  of  Police,  as  a  tax  per  house ;  stated  to  be 

200  per  cent,  higher  in  the  City  than  in  the  Metropo- 
litan Police  District,  is  shewn  to  be  as  6s.  3d.  is  to 
19s.  o^d.,  or  more  than  200  per  cent,  higher  in  the 
Metropolis  than  in  the  City. 

6.  That  more  than  three  crimes  out  of  four,  charged  in  the 

City,  are  committed  by  non-residents — mostly  persons 
living  in  the  Metropolitan  Police  District. 

7.  That  so  far  from  crimes  being  156  per  cent,  higher  in  the 

City  than  in  the  Metropolis,  they  are  found,  on  the 
contrary,  to  be  as  229  is  to  629,  or  175  per  cent, 
higher  in  the  Metropolitan  District  than  in  the 
City  of  London. 

8.  That,  as  it  regards  the  ratio  of  crime  to  houses ;  instead 

of  crime,  so  measured,  being  208  per  cent,  higher  in 
the  City,  as  asserted,  the  reverse,  and  more  than  that, 
is  the  case — crime  being  240  per  cent,  higher  in  the 
Metropolis  than  in  the  City  of  London. 

9.  That,  as  it  regards  the  number  of  criminals  committed,  in 

relation  to  population,  the  proportion  is  not  as  3  to  1 
in  favour  of  the  Metropolis,  but,  on  the  contrary,  as 
2  to  1  in  favour  of  the  City. 

10.  That  as  it  regards  graver  offences  (omitting  murders)  to 


12  8  RECAPITULATION,    CRIME   AND    POLICE. 

population,  the  ratio  is  again  unfavourable  to  the 
Metropolitan  Police,  for,  instead  of  the  City  population 
being  habitually  addicted  to  crimes  of  violence,  as 
asserted,  to  the  extent  of  271  per  cent,  of  the  popula- 
tion, we  find  that  the  ratio  is  only  1  grave  crime  com- 
mitted to  9,969  persons,  or  at  the  insignificant  ratio  of 
•01,  or  one  hundreth  part  of '  otie,  per  cent. 

11.  That  as  it  regards  the  crime  of  Murder  (strangely  omitted 

in  the  comparisons  which  have  been  made),  we  find 
that  none  were  charged  as  committed  within  the  City 
in  the  year  of  comparison  selected  by  Sir  Richard 
Mayne ;  but  10  were  charged  as  committed  in  the 
Metropolitan  Police  District ;  whilst  there  were,  in 
the  eight  years — 1858  to  1865 — 79  murders  stated  by 
the  Police  to  have  been  committed  in  London,  only  3 
of  which  were  chargeable  to  the  City. 

1 2.  That  the  verdicts  of  Wilful  Murder,  by  Coroners'  Juries, 

greatly  exceed  in  number  the  cases  of  Murder  reported 
by  the  Police. 

1 3.  That  as  it  regards  all  the  graver  crimes  in  the  eight  years 

1858  to  1865 — the  proportion  chargeable  to  the  Metro- 
politan Police  District  was  95*6  per  cent. ;  whilst  that 
chargeable  to  the  City  was  only  4-4  per  cent. 

1 4.  That  the  Coroners  for  Middlesex  and  Southwark  (parts  of 

the  Metropolitan  Police  District)  record  1,421  verdicts 
of  self-murder  in  the  period  1859  to  1865;  whilst  the 
Coroner  for  the  City  records  117  cases  only  within  that 
jurisdiction. 


RECAPITULATIOxV,   CRIME    AND    POLK  I  .  129 

15.  That  the  ratio  of  Publicans  and  Becrscllcrs  to  the  popu- 

lation is,  in  the  Metropolitan  Police  District,  260  per 
cent,  over  the  ratio  within  the  City  of  London. 

16.  That  "  Habitual  Drunkards"  proceeded  against  for  crimes, 

within  the  last  eight  years,  were  3,651  in  the  Metro- 
politan Police  District,  to  94  only  in  the  City  of 
London. 

17.  That   "Receivers   of    Stolen   Goods"   were    232    in   the 

Metropolitan  Police  District,  to  11  only  in  the  City 
of  London. 

18.  That  "Houses  for  the  reception  of  Stolen  Goods"  were 

181  in  the  Metropolitan  District,  to  11  in  the  City  of 
London. 

19.  That  "Brothels  and  Houses  of  111  Fame  "  were  1,601  in 

the  Metropolitan  Police  District,  to  9  in  the  City  of 
London. 

20.  That  "  Other  Houses,   the  resort   of  TJiieves  and  Pros- 

titutes "  were  567  in  the  Metropolitan  Police  District, 
to  44  in  the  City  of  London. 

21.  That  "Known  Thieves  and  Depredators"  were  2,961  in 

the  Metropolitan  Police  District,  to  57  only  in  the 
City  of  London. 

22.  That  "  Suspected  Persons  at  large  "  in   1861,  were  1,974 

in  the  Metropolitan  District,  to  51  only  in  the  City  of 
London. 

23.  That  "Prostitutes" — being   known   or   suspected   depre- 

dators— were  7,096  in  the  Metropolitan  Police  District, 
to  28  in  the  City  of  London. 


130  RECAPITULATION,    CRIME    AND    POLICE. 

24.  That  as  it  regards  the  efficiency  of  the  respective  Police 

Forces,  tested  by  the  proportions  of  Convictions  to 
apprehensions,  the  results  obtained  from  the  totals  of 
Summary  Convictions  for  eight  years  give — for  the 
Metropolitan  Police  Force,  54  per  cent. ;  whilst  for  the 
City  Force  the  proportion  was  737  per  cent. 

25.  That  as  it  regards  inefficient   apprehensions  (i.e.,  appre- 

hensions resulting  in  Discharges),  the  proportions 
were,  to  the  Metropolitan  Police  Force  45  "9  per  cent, 
but  26*2  only  to  the  City  Police. 

26.  That  these  proportions  are  even  more  favourable  to  the 

City  Force  than  those  reported  to  the  Municipal  Com- 
missioners in  1854 — shewing  a  condition  of  progressive 
improvement  in  that  Force. 

27.  That  the  statements  of  Sir  Richard  Mayne  brought  before 

the  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  by 
Mr.  E.  Chadwick,  asserting  the  expensive  character 
and  inefficiency  of  the  City  Police  for  the  preven- 
tion of  crime,  are  totally  and  enti?'ely  unfounded. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
the  FISCAL  REPRESENTATION  of  the  city  of  London 

AND    THE    OTHER    DISTRICTS  AT  THE  METROPOLITAN  BOARD 

i 
OF  WORKS. 

The  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works — the  result  apparently  of 
a  compromise  between  a  desire  to  appear  to  favour  Represen 
tative  Government,  and  a  determination  to  deny  its  practical 
operation — a  keeping  of  the  word  of  promise  to  the  ear,  to 
break  it  to  the  hope — was  the  work  of  one  of  the  professed 
Liberal  members  for  the  Borough  of  Marylebone,  connected 
with  a  Whig  administration.  It  was  created,  evidently  upon 
the  assumption  that  the  people  are  unable  to  manage  their 
own  affairs,  and  consequently,  unfitted  to  send  members  to  the 
Council  charged  with  the  expenditure  of  their  money.  No 
direct  representation  of  the  rated  inhabitants  is  recognized ; 
and  the  great  constitutional  principle — embodied  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  which  has  been  lauded  by  the  Liberal  school 
of  politicians — that  taxation  apart  from  representation  is 
tyrannical,  is  practically  ignored. 

The  members  of  the  Board  are  not,  in  any  sense,  directly 
accountable  to  their  several  constituencies — the  elective  action 


132  DEFECTS    OF    METROPOLITAN    BOARD. 

being  filtered  upwards  through  the  Parochial  Vestries  to  the 
Board  of  Works ;  a  process  not  only  destructive  of  direct 
accountability,  but  ill  adapted  to  develop  the  wealth,  intel- 
ligence and  administrative  capacity  of  the  districts.  No 
feebler  parody  of  Popular  Representative  Government  could 
well  have  been  devised. 

Another  defect  in  the  constitution  of  the  Board  of  Works, 
and  a  departure  from  established  usage,  consists  in  the  limited 
number  of  its  constituent  members.  The  amount  of  work 
devolved  upon  the  Board  by  the  growing  concerns  of  a  popu 
lation  of  over  3,000,000,  imperatively  demands  an  effective 
subdivision  of  labour  amongst  its  members,  and  the  delega- 
tion of  a  large  share  of  the  work  to  Committees.  Such  Com- 
mittees must,  of  necessity,  be  very  small — the  Board  number- 
ing only  45  members.  In  this  arrangement  the  great  and 
obvious  security  arising  from  an  adequate  number  of 
administrators,  is  not  provided  for,  and  the  consequent 
danger  of  lax  administration  is  proportionately  in- 
creased. 

When  it  is  observed  how  largely  the  powers  of  the  Board 
have  grown  beyond  their  first  modest  beginnings — when  it  is 
borne  in  mind  that  eight  and  a  half  millions  have  been  already 
disbursed  * — when  it  is  noticed  that  the  expenditure  of  the 
Board  (irrespective  of  the  great  public  works  of  the  Main 
Drainage,  the  Embankment  and  New  Streets)  is  increasing 
in  a  very  rapid  ratio,  we  think  we  may  assume  that  no 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  so  small  as  those  con- 
stituting the  Committees  of  the  Boards  of  Works,  would  ever 

*  The  figures  are  those  of  1861  and  1866,  and  remain  unaltered,  for 
reason  stated  in  Preface  to  the  Third  Edition.  The  existing  figures  would 
strengthen  the  argument. 


INCREASING    EXPENDITURE   OF    BOARD. 


133 


be  intrusted  with  such  control  over  the  public  money.*  We 
make  no  charge  of  corruption  or  wasteful  expenditure.  Upon 
these  points  we  are  in  no  position  to  express  an  opinion.  We 
allude  to  defects  of  system,  such  as  must  culminate,  sooner 
or  later,  in  defective  administration ;  and  it  is  significant  and 
ominous  that,  in  the  eleventh  year  of  the  Board's  existence,  the 
Chairman  is  put  forward  to  state  in  evidence,  that  "  the  limits  of 
direct  taxation  have  been  already  reached,"  and  that  unusual 
and  exceptional  modes  of  local  taxation  must  be  resorted  to. 

Another  obvious  defect  in  the  constitution  of  the  Metro- 
politan Board  of  Works  is  the  deficiency  in  the  representation 
of  local  interests.  Such  representation,  to  be  efficient,  requires 
subdivision,  in  order  that  the  divers  interests  of  the  several 
localities,  and  of  all  classes,  may  be  brought  under  the  personal 


*  Report  on  Local  Government  and  Taxation,  1866  (p.  91). 
Improvements.     Amount  already  Expended. 
Main  Drainage  ;  Thames  Embankment,  north  and  south, 

Street  Improvements,  etc Total  £5,795,314    r5s.    4-d. 

TAXATION 
by  the  Board  for  General  Purposes  and  Main  Drainage. 


Tear. 

General  Purposes. 

Main  Drainage. 

Totals. 

1856 

1857 
1858 

1859 
i860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 

£          S.    d. 

98,457     8  10 

87.939  I2  4 
107,087     2     2 

65,420  4  7 
119,920  6  9 
125,618  1  0 
115,388  4  1 
132,817  11  7 
163,826  17  2 
126,599  12  2 
160.325     8     3 

£1,303,400     8  11 

£      s.  d. 

£      s.  d. 

98,457     8  10 
87.939  12     4 
257.476     9  11 
215.955  18     4 
270,637  19     0 
281,367     1     9 
272,462  16     4 
290, 166  13  10 
344.089     9  11 
308,159  11     5 
342,175     8     3 

150.389   7   9 

150. 535  13    9 
150,717  12    3 

155.749    0    9 
157,074  12    3 
157.349    2    3 
180,262  12    9 
181,559  19     3 
181,850    0    0 

£1,465,488     1     0 

£2,768,888     9  11 

The  total  of  the  above  figures  is  ^8.564,203    5s.   3d. 


134 


ENORMOUS    FISCAL    POWER    OF    EACH    MEMBER. 


observation  of  their  representatives.  This  is  impracticable 
under  the  existing  constitution  of  the  Board.  The  number 
of  members  being  only  45  to  a  population  of  over  3,000,000 
and  a  rental  of  ^15, 2 50,000  annual  value,*  there  is,  on 
the  average,  to  each  member  a  representation  of  sixty-six 
thousand  six  hundred  constituents  and  of  three  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  thousand  eight  hundred  pounds  annual  value — an 
amount  of  responsibility  and  duty  imposed,  and  of  fiscal  power 
conferred,  altogether  without  parallel  elsewhere  in  reference  to 
local  administration.  The  average  representative  power  of 
one  member  of  the  Board  of  Works  exceeds  the  whole  of 

THE    ENTIRE    CORPORATE    REPRESENTATION  of  any  of  the  Cities 

and  Towns  undermentioned  : — 

Cities  and   Boroughs  of  less  Population   than   66,600 
Persons,  and  of  a  less  Rental  than  ,£338,800. 


Bath 

Gateshead 

Oxford 

Birkenhead 

Gloucester 

Warwick 

Cheltenham 

Halifax 

Walsall 

Derby 

Hastings 

Reading 

Exeter 

Wigan 

Rochdale 

Ashton-under-Lyne 

Weymouth 

Rochester 

Cambridge 

Tamworth 

Salisbury 

Southampton 

Hereford 

Shrewsbury 

Chester 

Huddersfield 

Shields 

Winchester 

Ipswich 

Stafford 

Colchester 

Kidderminster 

Stockport 

York 

Lancaster 

Worcester 

Coventry 

Lincoln 

Yarmouth 

Dover 

Macclesfield 

Wakefield 

Dudley 

Maidstone 

Tynemouth 

Durham 

Northampton 

*  Now,  1876,  £23,423,223. 


LOCAL    INTERESTS    NOT    R!  ID.  1 35 

Thus,  we  see  that  each  individual  member  of  the  Metro- 
politan Board  of  Works  is  intrusted  with  a  greater  amount  of 
fiscal  power  than  is  conferred  upon  the  Mayor  and  Town 
Council  of  any  one  of  these  cities  and  towns. 

The  Corporation  Commissioners  (1854)  emphatically  and 

justly  condemned  the  extension  of  the  Municipal  boundaries 

of  the   City  to   the   limits   of  the    Metropolis,  on   this  very 

ground  of   the  impossibility  of  adequately  representing  local 

interests  by  one  body,  in  an  area  of  such  magnitude.     They 

report : — 

"A  change  of  this  magnitude  would  ....  defeat,  the  main  purpose  of 
Municipal  institutions.  London,  taken  to  its  full  extent,  is  a  province 
covered  with  houses ;  its  diameter,  from  north  to  south,  and  from  east  to 
west,  is  so  great  that  the  persons  living  at  its  furthest  extremities 
have  few  interests  in  common  ;  its  area  is  so  large  that  each  inhabitant  is 
in  general  acquainted  only  with  his  own  quarter^  and  has  no  minute  know- 
ledge of  other  parts  of  the  town.  Hence  the  first  two  conditions  for 
Municipal  government,  minute  local  knowledge,  and  community  of  interests, 
would  be  wanting  if  the  whole  of  London  were  placed  under  a  single 
Corporation." — Report \  p.  xiv. 

The  defect  of  the  Board,  as  it  regards  the  representation 
of  local  interests,  arising  from  the  vastness  of  its  jurisdiction 
and  the  paucity  of  its  members,  will  be  apparent  on  reference 
to  some  of  the  Districts  represented.  For  instance — one  mem- 
ber for  Camberwell  represents  Camberwell,  Dulwich  and 
Peckham  ;  one  member  for  Greenwich  represents  the  towns 
of  Greenwich  and  Deptford ;  one  member  for  Wandsworth 
represents  the  six  localities  of  Clapham,  Battersea,  Wands- 
worth, Lower  Tooting,  Putney  and  Streatham ;  two  members 
for  Lambeth  represent  the  four  separate  districts  of  Lambeth, 
Norwood,  Kennington  and  Brixton.  The  list  might  be  further 
extended. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  defects  of  the  Metropolitan  Board 
of  Works  consist  in  departures  from  established  constitutional 


136  REPRESENTATION    INEQUITABLE. 

principles — recognized  and  tested,  through  many  centuries, 
in  other  Cities  and  Boroughs.  They  would  have  attracted 
more  attention,  and,  in  all  probability,  would  have  engendered 
more  abuses,  had  it  not  been  for  the  accident  of  the  selection 
of  a  gentleman  to  preside  over  the  Board,  who  unites  in  his 
person  a  large  amount  of  tact  with  a  good  share  of  common- 
sense  and  much  administrative  experience.  Sir  John  Thwaites 
has  afforded  the  Board  all  the  weight  of  his  official  character, 
and  has  possibly  averted  from  it  some  obloquy  —  thereby 
contributing  to  prolong  its  existence. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  constitution  and  composition  of 
the  Board  as  a  representative  body,  relatively  to  the  City  of 
London  and  the  other  districts  of  the  Metropolis. 

And  here,  again,  we  find  that  established,  well  recognized 
and  equitable  principles  of  local  administration  have  been 
violated  as  it  regards  the  distribution  and  allocation  of  the 
members  among  the  various  Districts. 

The  last  Census  return  of  the  population  (1861),  and  the 
sheet  of  rateable  annual  value  published  by  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works,  throw  considerable  light  upon  the  compara- 
tive claims  of  the  several  Districts  to  a  greater  or  lesser  share 
in  the  representation.  Nor  can  there  be  a  doubt  that  there 
is  urgent  need  for  a  thorough  revision  of  the  existing  system, 
if  the  Board  is  to  continue. 

The  diversity  in  property  qualification,  and  the  irrelevancy 
of  the  representation  to  the  rateability  of  the  constituencies 
is  well  exemplified  in  the  subjoined  table  ;  in  which  are  set 
out  the  several  Districts  represented  at  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works,  their  District  rateability  respectively,  the 
number  of  members  now  returned  by  each,  and  the  fiscal  power 
exercised  by  each  member  of  the  Board. 


FISCAL    POWER    OF    EACH    MEMBER. 


137 


Districts. 

District 
Eateability. 

ivuirnt'M  to  , 
Metropolitan1 

I'ower 
Of 
each  Member. 

£ 

Works. 

£ 

City  of  London 

2,109,935 

3 

703,045 

St.  George,  Hanover  Square 

1,076,722 

2 

538,361 

St.  Marylebone 

1,053,748 

2 

526,874 

St.  Pancras 

925,872 

2 

462,936 

Islington 

777,632 

2 

388,816 

Paddington 

75**344 

I 

758,344 

Lambeth 

637,000 

2 

318,500 

Kensington 

5°M32 

5OI^32 

St.  James,  Westminster     . 

462,032 

462,032 

Lewisham 

411,260 

411,260 

Shoreditch 

386,044 

193,022 

Hackney 

370,616 

370,616 

Wandsworth 

361,400 

361,400 

Poplar 

344,320 

344,32o 

Westminster 

339,660 

339,660 

Chelsea    .... 

299,868 

299,868 

Strand      .... 

286,808 

206,808 

Whitechapel     . 

276,530 

276,530 

Greenwich 

274,976 

274,976 

St.  Giles-in-the-Fields 

272,412 

272,412 

St.  Martin-in-the-Fields 

265,336 

265,336 

Camberwell 

250,000 

250,000 

Clerkenwell 

242,254 

242,254 

Newington 

240,000 

240,000 

Limehouse 

234,608 

234,608 

St.  George's-in-the-East     . 

196,917 

196,917 

Holborn  .... 

194,619 

194,619 

Rotherhithe  and  St.  Olave 

194,200 

194,200 

Bethnal  Green 

192,116 

192,116 

Mile  End  Old  Town 

191,056 

191,056 

St.  Luke's 

186,452 

186,452 

Fulham    .... 

171,876 

171,876 

St.  Saviour 

164,000 

164,000 

Bermondsey 

150,000 

150,000 

Hampstead 

147,624 

147,624 

St.  George,  Southwark 

146,000 

146,000 

Woolwich 

83,000 

83,000 

138  ILLUSTRATIONS    OF    UNJUST   REPRESENTATION. 

To  test  the  inequality  of  the  rateable  values  conferring  re- 
presentation, let  us  take  the  two  extreme  cases  as  illustrations. 

Every  vote  given  by  the  member  for  Paddington  represents 
a  rateability  of  ^758,344. 

Every  vote  of  the  member  for  the  parish  of  Woolwich, 
represents  a  rateability  of  only  ^83,000. 

The  one  is  more  than  nine  times  the  amount  of  the  other ; 
yet  their  votes  are  equal,  on  all  divisions  at  the  Board  ! 

The  ten  members  for  the  City,  St.  George's  Hanover 
Square,  Marylebone,  Pancras  and  Paddington,  represent 
each,  on  an  average,  a  rental  of  ,£592,462. 

The  four  members  for  St.  Luke's,  St.  Saviour's,  Hampstead 
and  St.  George's  Southwark,  represent  each  but  ^161,019. 

Yet  the  votes  of  each  of  the  fourteen  representatives  are 
equal 7     Surely  this  should  be  called  /^-representation. 

Each  of  the  following  districts  has  a  population  inferior  to 
the  sleeping  or  minimum  population  of  the  City  of  London — 
namely,  Limehouse,  Holborn,  Rotherhithe  and  St.  Olave,  St. 
George's-in-the-East,  Mile  End  Old  Town,  St.  Luke,  Bethnal 
Green,  St.  Saviour,  Hampstead,  Bermondsey,  St.  George's 
Southwark  and  Woolwich. 

Their  average  population  is  less  than  one-half  of  that  of 
the  City  of  London,  even  by  the  midnight  census.  Tested  by 
the  day  census  of  283,520  persons,  it  is  found  to  be  less  than 
one  fifth.  It  is,  therefore,  clear  that  they  are  not  entitled, 
on  the  ground  of  numbers,  to  the  representation  which  they 
possess  at  the  Metropolitan  Board. 

On  the  ground  of  property  also  it  may  be  affirmed,  without 


CITY    MOST    INADEQUATELY    REPRESENT!  1 39 

disparagement  to  these  less  important  districts,  that,  if  the 
representation  be  allotted  upon  an  equitable  principle,  the 
City  of  London  is  not  half  represented  as  it  should  be  at  the 
Metropolitan  Board. 

The  rateable  property  of  the  City  is  : — 

Eight-fold  that  of  the  district  of  Limehouse  j 

Ten-fold  that  of  Holborn,  or  Rotherhithe  and  St  Olave, 
or  St.  George's-in-the-East ; 

Eleven-fold  that  of  Mile  End  Old  Town,  or  St.  Luke  or 
Bethnal  Green ; 

Twelve-fold  that  of  St.  Saviour ; 

Fourteen-fold  that  of  Hampstead,  or  Bermondsey,  or  St. 
George  Southwark ; 

Twenty-five  fold  that  of  Woolwich  ■! 

The  aggregate  rateable  value  of  the  whole  of  these  twelve 
districts  is  ^2,080,5 92. 

That  of  the  City  of  London  is  ^£2, 109,935. 

The  lesser  amount  of  taxable  property,  i.e.,  in  the  twelve 
districts,  is  represented  at  the  Board  by  twelve  members  ! 

The  greater  amount  of  taxable  property,  i.e.,  in  the  City, 
is  represented  at  the  Board  by  three  members  ! 

If  the  lesser  sum  gives  a  title  to  twelve,  surely  the 
greater  sum  should,  equitably,  give  the  City  at  least  the  same 
number  of  representatives. 

St.  George's  Hanover  Square  and  Shoreditch   have  each 


140  OTHER    DISTRICTS    INADEQUATELY    REPRESENTED. 

two  representatives  at  the  Metropolitan  Board.  The  population 
of  the  foimer  is  87,771,  that  of  the  latter  129,364.  The 
rateability  of  St.  George's  being  ^1,076,722,  and  that  of 
Shoreditch  ^386,044,  the  representative  privilege  should  be 
as  5  to  2 — i.e.,  if  Shoreditch  should  have  two,  St.  George's 
should  have  five,  with  a  surplus  of  ,£111,612  in  its  rateability, 
as  a  set-off  against  the  41,593  of  deficient  population. 

Marylebone  has  a  population  of  161,680  against  the 
155,341  of  Islington — with  rateable  property  to  the  amount  of 
,£1,053,748  against  ,£777,632.  Yet  they  have  each  two  repre- 
sentatives. Surely  the  excess  of  ,£276,116  should  give  three 
members  as  against  the  two  members  of  the  inferior  district ; 
especially  as  there  are  19  districts  of  a  rateability  less  than  the 
excess  of  Marylebone  over  Islington — each  of  them  having  a 
representative  at  the  Board. 

Pancras  has  198,788  inhabitants,  and  Greenwich  but 
85,975,  an  excess  of  112,813  in  favour  of  the  former.  Pancras 
is  also  the  more  wealthy  by  ,£650,896,  which  should  give  it 
arithmetically  and  equitably,  at  least  a  third  member ;  seeing 
also  that  there  are  thirty-one  districts  of  a  rateability  inferior 
to  the  excess  of  Pancras  over  Greenwich.  Paddington  affords 
another  illustration  of  inadequate  representation. 

The  above  figures  prove,  with  the  force  of  demonstration, 
that  the  City  of  London  is,  beyond  all  comparison,  the 
district  most  inadequately  represented  at  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works ;  whilst  several  other  Districts  are,  in  various 
degrees,  placed  at  a  disadvantage,  and  others,  again,  unduly 
favoured.  This  must  be  remedied  before  any  further  fiscal 
powers  are  conferred. 

But  the  question  arises — upon  what  principle  ?     Whatever 


EQUITABLE    REPRESENTATION    EXPEDJ I  141 

views  may  be  held  on  the  subject  of  political  representation 
(on  which  we  express  no  opinion),  there  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever  that,  as  it  regards  fiscal  representation,  rateable 
value  must  be  taken  into  account,  if  not  solely,  at  least  in 
conjunction  with  population. 

This  should  be  so  on  the  ground  of  equity ;  but  it  would 
also  be  found  to  be  expedient  on  the  score  of  good  policy.  It 
cannot  be  doubted  that,  in  addition  to  mere  representation,  it 
is  most  desirable  that  a  Board  intrusted  with  such  extraor- 
dinary powers  as  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  should 
obtain  the  largest  possible  amount  of  administrative  capacity 
and  general  intelligence.  This  can  be  best  accomplished,  and 
at  the  cost  of  least  violence  to  established  representative 
principles,  by  conferring  on  the  districts  in  which  the  rentals 
are  highest,  their  due  share  of  representation.  To  act  other- 
wise is  to  empower  the  poorer  districts  to  send  an  undue 
proportion  of  representatives  ;  who,  however  respectable  they 
may  be  personally,  may  not  be  best  calculated  to  bring  to  the 
aid  of  the  Board  that  weight  which  position,  education  and 
administrative  experience  can  alone  bestow. 

The  landed  aristocracy  of  the  West,  and  the  monied  and 
mercantile  aristocracy  of  the  City,  afford  the  most  promising 
recruiting  grounds  for  an  intelligent  class  of  representatives. 
The  City  and  the  Western  districts  have,  inadequately  as  they 
have  been  represented,  returned  to  the  Board  the  members  of 
the  highest  social  position — Westminster  and  Chelsea  being 
represented  by  members  of  Parliament,  whilst  the  City  has  sent 
two  representatives  who  have  been  members  of  Parliament, 
and  three  who  have  served  the  office  of  Lord  Mayor.  Com- 
parisons of  this  kind  are  invidious  and  commonly  undesirable  ; 
but  it  may  be  generally  assumed  that  gentlemen  who  have 


142  BOARD    MUST    BE    RECONSTITUTED. 

attained  a  high  social  position,  and  who  command  the  con- 
fidence of  Parliamentary  or  Municipal  constituencies,  must 
be  possessed,  in  some  degree,  of  the  requisite  administrative 
experience. 


Why  the  influential  Districts  of  Marylebone,  St.  Pancras 
and  Paddington  should  be  insufficiently  represented — why  the 
City  of  London,  standing  as  it  does  at  the  head  of  the  rest 
of  the  Metropolis,  as  it  regards  population,  wealth  and 
rateable  value,  and  whose  citizens  occupy  no  inferior  posi- 
tion in  respect  of  intelligence — should  have  been  curtailed 
of  one  half  its  representative  influence,  surpasses  our 
comprehension.  But,  notice  being  directed  to  the  subject  by 
the  very  exceptional  attention  which  the  City  has  received  at 
the  hands  of  the  Board,  in  being  favoured  by  an  annual 
augmentation  of  its  taxable  rental — it  is  probable  that  the 
citizens  will  think  themselves  entitled  to  be  placed  upon  a 
more  intimate  footing  with  a  Board  which  has  shewn  itself  so 
careful  of  their  interests. 


We  have  now  only  to  indicate  the  number  of  Members, 
which,  upon  the  principles  enunciated,  should  be  apportioned 
to  each  District,  if  the  Board  be  continued;  so  that  repre- 
sentation and  fiscal  power  should  go  hand  in  hand.  And  as 
we  have  shewn  that  45  members  is  a  number  utterly  inade- 
quate to  the  grave  responsibility  and  onerous  duties  of  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  we  append  to  the  following 
table,  columns  shewing  the  proportions  of  members  to  the 
several  Districts  for  a  Board  of  45  members ;  as  well  as  for 
a  Board  of  double  that  number : — 


EXISTING   AND    SUGGESTED    REPRESENTATION. 


143 


Districts  represented  on  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works. 


District 

District 

IUteability. 

Population 

£ 

2.109,935 

283,520 

1.076,722 

87.771 

1,053,748 

161,680 

925,872 

198,788 

777,632 

155.341 

758,344 

75.784 

637,000 

162,044 

501,132 

70, 108 

462,032 

35.326 

411,260 

65.737 

386,044 

129,364 

370,616 

83.295 

361,400 

70,403 

339,660 

67,890 

344.320 

79, 196 

299, 868 

63.439 

286,808 

42,898 

276,530 

78,970 

274,976 

85.975 

272,412 

54.076 

265,336 

22,689 

250,000 

71,488 

242,254 

65,681 

240,000 

82,220 

234,608 

56.572 

196,917 

48,891 

194,619 

45.463 

194,200 

43  558 

192,116 

105,101 

191,056 

73.064 

186,452 

57.073 

171,876 

40,058 

164,000 

36.170 

150,000 

58,355 

147,624 

19,106 

146,000 

55.5IO 

83,000 

41,695 

a£% 

111 


*3 


I 


ill 


Bill 

ittJ 


1111 


City  of  London 

St.  George's,  Hanover  Sq. 

St.  Marylebone    

St.  Pancras  1 

Islington   

Paddington  

Lambeth   

Kensington  

St.  James's,  Westminster. 

Lewisham 

Shoreditch    

Hackney   

Wandsworth    

Westminster    

Poplar   

Chelsea 

Strand    

Whitechapel    

Greenwich    

St.  Giles's-in-the-Fields ... 

St.  Martin 's-in-the- Fields. 

Camberwell 

Clerkenwell 

Newington   

Limehouse 

St.  George's-in-the-East.. 

I  Holborn    

i  Rotherhithe  and  £t.  Olave 

Bethnal  Green 

J  Mile  End  Old  Town  .. 

I  St.  Luke's 

I  Fulham 

St.  Saviour   

'  Bermondsey 

J  Hampstead  

I  St.  George,  Southwark 

Woolwich 


62 
3'2 
3"i 
27 

2 '3 
22 
r8 
1 '5 
1  "4 

I'2 
1*1 

II 
IO 
IO 
1*0 

•8 
•8 
•8 
•8 
•8 
7 
7 
7 
7 
7 
•6 
•6 
•6 
•6 
'5 
'5 
5 
•5 
"4 
'4 
'4 
•2 


4'5 
t'4 

2'5 

31 

2'4 
1*9 

2 '5 
II 

'5 
IO 

20 

1 '3 
11 
10 
i*a 

10 
•6 

I-2 

1 '3 
•8 

•3 

11 

10 

13 

9 

7 

7 

•6 

16 

11 

"9 
•6 

•5 
•9 
3 
•8 
•6 


5"3 
23 
2'9 

2'9 
2'3 

17 

21 

1 '3 

IO 

II 
1 '5 

I-2 
IO 
IO 
I*X 

'9 
7 
10 
10 
•8 
"5 
'9 
'9 

I'O 

•8 
7 
7 
•6 
i*i 
•8 
7 
•5 
*5 
•6 

•4 
•6 

•4 


107 
4'6 
5'6 
5-8 
47 
3 '4 
43 
26 

1  "9 
9*9 

3'I 
2'4 
21 

2  0 
2  2 

18 

I '2 
2  0 
21 

1  "4 

I'O 

18 

i"7 
20 
16 
1 '3 
1 '3 

I  "2 
9*9 

16 

1 '4 
10 
10 
1 '3 

7 
1*9 

•8 


144  CHANGES    IMPERATIVELY    DEMANDED. 

A  glance  at  the  above  table  will  shew  the  changes 
which  are  imperatively  demanded  in  the  constitution  of  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  as  it  regards  the  return  of 
Representatives  by  the  several  Districts.  It  proves,  moreover, 
that  while  the  Board  is  limited  to  45  members,  it  is  utterly 
impracticable  to  apportion  representation  to  either  population 
or  rateability,  or  both  united. 

For — 

1.  There  are  no  less  than   twenty-two  Districts  (see   col.   2) 

which  are  not  entitled  to  one  representative  each  out 
of  45,  on  the  ground  of  Rateable  value. 

2.  There  are  fifteen  Districts  (see  col.  3)  which  are  disentitled 

to  one  representative  each  out  of  45,  on  the  ground  of 
Population. 

3.  There   are   eighteen   Districts   (see   col.   4)  which   are   dis- 

entitled to  one  representative  each  out  of  45,  on  the 
ground  of  Rateability  and  Population  united. 

'  Whilst  injustice  is  thus  done  by  conferring  on  these 
Districts  one  member  each,  being  in  excess  of  their  just 
requirements,  the  principles  of  equity  are  violated  in  the 
opposite  direction,  by  depriving  the  following  Districts  of  their 
due  share  of  representation  (see  cols.  1  and  4) : — * 

The  City  of  London  is  accorded  3  members  instead  of  5 
St.  Marylebone  „  2  members         „  3 

St.  Pancras  ,,  2  members         „  3 

Paddington  „  1  member  „  2 

If  the  number  of  the  Members  of  the  Board  were  doubled 
*  Decimal  fractions  over  -5  are  treated  as  unity. 


DISTRICTS    IN    THE    ORDER    OF   THEIR    CLAIMS. 


145 


(say  89),  it  would  be  practicable  to  deal  out  something  like 
even-handed  justice  j  and,  treating  decimal  fractions  over  and 
under  -5  as  units  respectively,  we  find  that  the  following  would 
be  the  number  of  representatives  allocated  to  the  several 
Districts;  which  we  arrange  in  the  order  of  their  claims  to 
representation  : — 


Districts  of  Metropolitan 
Board. 


1.  City  of  London  

2.  St.  Pancras 

3.  St  Marylebone  

4.  Islington  

5.  St.George's,  Hanover  J 

Square » 

6.  Lambeth  

7.  Paddington 

8.  Shoreditch  

9.  Kensington 

10.  Hackney 

11.  Lewisham    

1 2.  Bethnal  Green     

13.  Poplar 

14.  Wandsworth    

15.  Greenwich   

16.  Westminster    

17.  Whitechapel    

18.  Newington  

19.  St. James's,  Westminstei 


2    i 

.20  j 

g    o  § 

o        u 


Districts  of  Metropolitan 
Board. 


20. 
21. 
22. 

23 

24 

25- 
20. 
27. 
2& 
29. 
3D- 
31. 

32- 
33- 
34- 
35- 
3* 
37- 


Chelsea 

Camberwell 

Clerkenwell 

Limehouse    

Mile  End  Old  Town  .., 
St.  Giles's-in-the-  Fields 

St.  Luke's    

Bermondsey 

Rotherhithe  &  St.  Olave 
St.  George's-in-the-East 

Holborn    

Strand  

St.  George's,  South wark 

Fulham     

St.  Martin's 

St.  Saviour's    

Woolwich     

Hampstead  


Total. 


89 


We  have  thus  indicated,  we  hope  with  sufficient  clearness, 
the  principles  of  Representation  in  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 


10 


146  PRINCIPLES    OF    RECONSTRUCTION 

Works,  which,  we  fully  believe,  can  alone  secure  the  confidence 
of  the  represented — if,  indeed,  the  experimental  existence  of 
the  Board  is  to  be  prolonged. 

We  would  briefly  summarize  them  as  : — 

1.  Direct  representation  and  accountability. 

2.  Increase  in  the  number  of  members  to  at  least  double 

the  existing  number. 
» 

3.  More  efficient  sub-division  for  representation  of  local 

interests. 

4.  Allocation  of   members  to  Districts   in  proportion  to 

their  populations  and  rateable  values. 

Some  such  reorganization  might  possibly  reconcile  the 
Metropolis  to  a  continuance  of  the  extraordinary  taxing 
powers  now  vested  in  and  sought  by  the  Board.  If 
amendments,  similar  in  principle  to  those  shadowed  forth, 
be  not  speedily  introduced  into  the  constitution  of  the 
Board,  the  fiscal  screw,  by  a  few  more  revolutions  being 
brought  to  the  crushing  power,  will  extort  a  cry  from 
the  least  sensitive,  and  arouse  the  most  apathetic  to 
seek  relief  in  change.  The  Metropolitan  Board  is  not  one 
of  our  institutions  venerable  by  reason  of  their  antiquity, 
and  with  which  the  cautious  shrink  from  intermeddling  lest 
they  should  destroy  what  they  cannot  re-constitute.  Its  crea- 
tion dates  only  from  1855,  and  it  is,  and  was  from  the  first, 
regarded  as  an  experiment.  "The  act  of  1855  was  an 
attempt " — to  quote  from  Sir  William  Fraser's  amusing  little 
brochure — "  a  simple  form,  to  be  ultimately  developed.  I  do 
not  consider,  nor,  what  is  more  important,  does  the  Public 


IF   THE    BOARD    IS   TO   CONTINUE.  1 47 

consider,  that  these  gentlemen  are  fully  qualified  to  hold  such 
vast  patronage  and  control,  and  to  spend  such  gigantic 
sums,  as  a  general  management  of  London  would  place  in 
their  hands.  They  are  Trilobites,  and  must  give  place  to  a 
higher  order  of  creation."* 

*  "  London  Self- Governed."     By  Sir  William  Fraser,  Bart.,  M.P. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

METROPOLITAN  MUNICIPALITIES— the  various  sug- 
gestions   IN    REFERENCE    THERETO AND    THE    FUTURE    OF 

THE    METROPOLIS. 

THE  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  in  common  with 
many  of  our  institutions,  is,  as  we  have  stated,  the 
result  of  a  compromise.  The  Whig  party,  which  has  ruled  the 
country  almost  continuously  for  the  last  thirty  years,  although 
making  professions  favourable  to  administration  by  popular 
representation,  has  notoriously  postponed,  as  long  as  was 
possible,  the  practical  application  of  that  principle  as  it  regards 
both  national  and  local  government.  Hence,  as  we  have 
affirmed  elsewhere,  the  creation  of  this  parody  of  local  repre- 
sentative government  for  the  Metropolis. 

To  the  evident  indisposition  of  the  ruling  party,  to  bring 
their  own  principles  to  the  test  of  experiment,  we  must  attri- 
bute the  reluctance  which  has  been  displayed  to  confer  Muni- 
cipal institutions  on  the  unenfranchised  Districts  of  the 
Metropolis;  although  such  districts  equal,  as  it  regards  rate- 
able value,  three-fifths  of  the  aggregated  Parliamentary  and 
Municipal   Boroughs   of  England,  and  possess  a  population 


GOVERNMENT   JEALOUSY    OF    MUNICIPALITIES.  1 49 

amounting  to  nearly  o?ie-half  of  that  of  such  aggregate 
Boroughs.  Hence  the  repeated  Commissions  to  inquire,  but 
none  to  remedy  the  inconvenience  which  efflux  of  time  and 
growth  of  population  have  introduced  into  the  local  adminis- 
tration of  London  ;  hence  the  attempt,  speedily  abandoned — to 
govern  London  from  the  bureau  of  Her  Majesty's  Chief  Com- 
missioner of  Works  ;  hence  the  conferring  upon  a  Commis- 
sioner of  Police — irresponsible  to  Parliament  or  to  Municipa- 
lity— powers  of  organizing,  arming  and  disposing  of  a 
quasi-military  force,  in  violation  of  every  principle  of  Consti- 
tutional government ;  hence  the  repeated  attempts  to  despoil 
the  citizens  of  London  of  cherished  free  customs  and  privi- 
leges (held  from  time  immemorial  and  defended  successfully 
against  the  attacks  of  despotic  monarchs  and  corrupt  courts), 
not  because  such  privileges  had  been  abused,  or  because 
their  free  exercise  was  dreaded  in  the  particular  instance, 
but  because  no  settled  faith  in  representative  government 
existed,  and  it  was  consequently  determined  that  no  such 
free  institutions  should  be  conferred  on  unenfranchised 
London,  as  were  enjoyed  by  the  City  of  London,  in  com- 
mon with  every  considerable  City  and  Borough  in  the  king- 
dom. 

It  is  painful  to  one  professing  liberal  sentiments,  to  put 
upon  record  that,  while  the  Whigs  have  been  in  power,  no 
efficient  step  has  been  taken  towards  conferring  or  improving 
Municipal  institutions  in  the  Metropolis ;  whilst  no  oppor- 
tunity has  been  neglected  to  destroy,  injure,  or  lower  in 
public  estimation  the  only  Municipality  in  the  Capita)  of  the 
Empire,  based  upon  the  tried  and  efficient  system  of  our 
Saxon  ancestors.  Such,  for  instance,  were  the  persistent 
efforts   of  the   Government,  for   fifteen  years — from  1842  to 


150  ATTACKS   ON   THE   CITY'S   PRIVILEGES. 

1857 — to  prevent  the  Corporation  of  London  from  Embanking 
the  Thames;  the  attacks  upon  the  citizens  in  1839,  and  again 
in  1863,  to  wrest  from  them  the  control  of  their  Police  Force, 
seeking  to  reduce  them,  in  point  of  independence,  below 
every  Provincial  Municipality  in  the  Kingdom  (with  how 
much  reason  or  justice  will  be  seen  by  the  contents  of  Chapter 
V.).  Such  were  the  strenuous  but  abortive  efforts  of  the 
Government  of  1848,  to  prevent  the  passing  of  the  Bill 
increasing  the  power  of  the  City  to  deal  with  Sanitary 
matters  within  their  jurisdiction  (the  results  of  which  in- 
creased authority  will  be  alluded  to  presently)  ;  to  all 
which  may  be  added  the  dog-in-the-manger  conduct  of  the 
late  Government,  during  the  past  Session,  in  opposing 
and  throwing  out  in  Committee,  the  City's  Bill  for  regulat- 
ing the  street  traffic,  and  for  the  erection  of  street-bridges, 
to  secure  the  safe  crossing  of  crowded  thoroughfares  ;  and 
this,  too,  not  because  the  measure  was  needless  or  the 
Bill  defective,  or  that  the  Government  were  prepared 
with  a  better,  but  avowedly  on  the  ground  that  the 
Bill,  promoted  by  the  City,  did  not  deal  with  the  whole 
Metropolis.* 

It  is  even  more  painful  to  add,  that  these  and  other  per- 
sistent efforts  to  extinguish  popular  rights,  and  to  hinder 
self-improvement  or  extended  public  usefulness  on  the  part 
of  the  City,  received  the  support  of  several  members  for  Metro- 
politan Boroughs — professed  opponents  of  despotic  forms  of 
government,  and  pledged  to  the  maintenance  of  popular 
rights. 

Such  has  been  the  apathy  of  the  Londoners  as  it  regards 


*  A  return  of  the  lives  lost  and  limbs  broken  since   1866,  would  point 
the  moral  of  the  above  observation. 


HINDRANCE   OF   THE  THAMES   EMBANKM1  I  5  I 

local  administration,  and  such  is  the  forgetfulness  of  the 
public  mind,  that  it  becomes  needful  to  recall  to  recollection, 
and  to  record  afresh  what  has  been  transpiring  in  these 
respects.* 

To  allude  to  the  great  work  of  the  Thames  Embankment. 
It  is,  this  year  (1867),  just  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  the 
Thames  was  surveyed  in  reference  to  that  important  Metropolitan 
improvement,  as  designed  by  the  Corporation  of  London, 
and  agreed  to  be  effected  at  their  expense.  It  would  have- 
been  completed  eighteen  years  since,  at,  probably,  a  fourth 
part  of  the  expense  which  it  will  now  involve,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  discovery  by  the  Government,  simultaneously 
with  the  determination  on  the  part  of  the  Corporation  to 
carry  it  into  effect — that  the  soil  of  the  river  (over  which  no 
legal  ownership  had  been  exercised  by  the  Government  within 
historical  memory)  formed  a  portion  of  the  hereditary 
revenues  of  the  Crown.  A  chancery  suit  was  instituted  by 
the  Government,  who  persistently  opposed  every  attempt  at 
a  legislative  settlement.  For  fifteen  long  years — from  1842 
to  1857 — all  progress  in  the  Embankment  was  thus  barred ; 
and  it  is  a  singular  commentary  upon  the  jealousy  of  the 
Government,  lest  the  Municipal  authority  should  exercise  its 
rights  beneficially,  that  three  heads  of  that  Government  have 
passed  away,  whilst  nineteen  of  the  twenty  members  of  the 
Corporation  who  formed  the  Committee,  caused  the  river  to 
be  surveyed,  and  signed  the  Report  to  the  Common  Council  in 
1842,  are  now  no  more. 

*  As  an  illustration  of  popular  inattention  to  local  matters,  we  point 
out  the  following  statement  by  Sir  William  Fraser  : — "  The  very  year  that 
the  Metropolitan  Board  came  into  existence,  the  Thames  Embankment  was 
designed."  That  Board  was  created  in  1855,  the  Thames  was  surveyed  and 
the  line  of  Embankment  laid  down  by  the  Corporation  of  London,  13  year- 
earlier,  in  1842,  as  above  narrated. 


152  EMBANKMENT    DESIGNED    IN    1 842. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  Mr.  Alderman  Finnis,  the 
only  surviving  member  of  the  Committee  recommending  the 
Embankment  scheme,  sat  recently  upon  the  Metropolitan 
Board  of  Works,  engaged  in  its  construction;  and  has  had 
the  good  fortune  to  live  to  witness  its  completion. 


As,  by  the  efflux  of  time,  a  generation  has  nearly  elapsed 
since  the  projection  of  this  scheme,  and  it  has  already  passed 
into  the  region  of  history,  we  append  an  extract  from  the 
Report  of  the  Thames  Navigation  Committee,  adopted  by  the 
Court  of  Common  Council  in  1842  (see  Appendix  I.),  and  we 
introduce  here  an  account  of  the  transaction  as  furnished  by 
the  late  Recorder,  the  Rt.  Hon.  J.  Stuart  Wortley,  M.P. 


' '  From  time  immemorial,  probably  from  the  period  when  the  Thames 
'*  was  first  embanked  in  very  ancient  times,  the  Corporation  of  London 
"have  possessed  the  Conservancy,  and  Soil,  and  bed  of  the  river.  They 
"have  claimed  and  exercised  the  right  from  time  to  time  of  granting 
"  licenses  to  embank,  in  cases  where  it  has  been  considered  beneficial  to  the 
"  river,  applying  the  proceeds  to  the  removal  of  shoals  and  other  purposes 
"of  improvement  on  the  river. 

"  In  1842,  the  Corporation  contemplated  a  large  expenditure  of  money 
"for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  execution  and  improvement  of  the  river 
"upon  a  more  extended  scale  than  had  before  been  attempted;  but  in 
' '  order  that  they  might  receive  the  best  advice  before  they  commenced 
"  the  undertaking,  they  applied  to  the  Admiralty  for  the  assistance  of  Cap- 
"tain  Bullock,  R.N.,  who  had  been  engaged  in  surveys  for  that  Board  for 
"many  years,  and  Mr.  James  Walker,  Pres.  Ins.  C.E.  Captain  Bullock 
"and  the  officers  of  the  Corporation  in  Harbour  and  Conservancy  service 
"  made  a  survey  of  the  Thames  within  the  limits  of  the  City's  jurisdiction, 
"and  presented  an  able  and  elaborate  report,  recommending  a  definite 
' '  system  for  the  future  management  of  the  river  and  its  branches,  for  the 
• '  purpose  of  removing  shoals,  securing  the  banks,  and  erecting  steamboat- 


THE    CROWN    HINDERS    THE    CORPORATK  r  153 

"piers  where  requisite.  As  this  project  contemplated  the  expenditure  of 
"a  very  large  sum  of  money,  the  opinion  of  the  most  eminent  counsel 
"was  taken  as  to  the  legal  power  of  the  Corporation  to  carry  it  into 
**  execution,  and  to  apply  the  fines  or  rents,  which  might  be  received  from 
"  the  owners  of  wharf  property  wishing  to  embank,  in  defraying  the  great 
"  charges  of  the  improvement. 

"Counsel  were  unanimously  of  opinion  that  the  Corporation  were 
"  fully  justified  in  taking  this  course.  The  Report  was  printed  and  exten- 
sively circulated  ;  and  the  removal  of  the  shoals  was  about  to  be  com- 
"  menced,  when  the  solicitors  of  the  Woods  and  Forests  filed  an  information 
' '  against  the  Corporation,  which  had  the  effect  of  restraining  them  from 
"executing  their  design.  The  ground  alleged  for  this  step  was,  that  by 
"the  prerogative  right  of  the  Crown,  the  soil  and  bed  of  all  rivers  within 
' '  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the  tide  forms  a  part  of  the  hereditary  revenues 
"  of  the  Crown,  and  that  when  the  state  of  the  river  justified  its  Embank- 
"  ment,  the  ground  reclaimed  from  the  river  should  be  let  or  sold  for  the 
"  benefit  of  the  Sovereign,  as  part  of  the  Crown  estates. 

"The  Corporation  under  the  advice  of  most  distinguished  counsel 
' '  unconnected  with  them,  controverted  this  position,  and  they  have  taken 
"such  proceedings  in  resisting  the  claim  of  the  Crown,  as  counsel  have 
• '  from  time  to  time  advised  ;  always  professing  their  readiness  to  be  bound 
"by  Act  of  Parliament  to  apply  the  revenue  which  might  be  derived 
"  from  this  source  as  they  had  previously  done,  not  to  corporate  uses,  but 
"  for  the  benefit  of  the  River.  The  Corporation  have  been  in  negotiation 
"  with  the  Government  during  almost  the  whole  time  the  suit  has  been 
"pending,  for  a  settlement  of  all  differences  connected  with  the  river,  in 
"a  manner  that  would  be  just  to  the  Crown  and  the  Corporation,  and  at 
'  •  the  same  time  beneficial  to  the  public.  These  negotiations  are  still 
"  pending,  and  as  auxiliary  to  this  object,  the  Corporation  have  each  year 
* f  placed  themselves  in  a  position  before  Parliament  to  enable  them,  in 
"case  the  proposed  arrangement  with  the  Crown  could  be  accomplished, 
"  to  carry  it  into  effect  by  means  of  a  Bill." — From  a  paper  laid  before 
t/ie  Corporation  Inquiry  Commission  (1854),  by  the  Rt.  Hon.  J.  Stuart 
IVortley,  M.P.,  Recorder.     (Vide  also  Appendix  L). 

From   the   hindrance   of    the   Thames   Embankment,   we 


154  CORPORATION    HAS  -  COMPLETED    ITS    SEWAGE. 

proceed  to  consider  the  strenuous  opposition  to  the  bestowal 
of  increased  Sanitary  powers  upon  the  Corporation  of  London 
in  1848. 

Previously  to  that  year  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers 
for  the  City,  appointed  by  the  Corporation,  had  completed 
an  efficient  system  of  sewers  for  the  thoroughfares  within 
their  jurisdiction.  The  great  Fleet  Sewer,  still  the  largest 
of  this  class  of  structures  in  the  Metropolis,  was  constructed 
by  the  Corporation  and  the  City  Commission  of  Sewers.  As 
early  as  1842  the  engineer  of  that  body  had  reported  the 
completion  of  the  London  Bridge  Sewer.  These  were  the 
first  of  those  large  arterial  structures  which  have  subse- 
quently been  introduced  into  other  parts  of  the  Metropolis, 
but  in  respect  of  which  the  City  municipality  led  the  way 
and  set  the  example.  Mr.  Kelsey,  since  that  date,  had  been 
enabled  to  report — 

"Within  the  last  thirteen  years— that  is,  since  you  obtained  an  outlet 
"  at  London  Bridge — sewers  have  been  built  in  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
' '  different  streets  and  places  ;  and  the  map  of  the  City  with  its  sewers, 
"  which,  by  your  direction,  I  have  had  the  honour  of  laying  before  you, 
"  will  at  once  shew  that,  including  old  and  new,  the  sewage  lines  are  com- 
" plete  in  your  district.  Although  it  cannot  yet  be  said  that  not  a  street, 
"  or  court,  or  alley  in  the  whole  City  is  without  adequate  drainage,  yet 
"  there  is  fair  ground  for  hope  that  but  few  years  will  elapse  before  so 
"desirable  a  statement  can,  with  truth,  be  made." 

Subsequently  to  that  period,  Mr.  Haywood,  the  present 
very  efficient  Engineer  of  the  Commission,  had  been  enabled 
to  report  that  every  street,  lane,  court  and  alley,  without 
exception,  had  been  provided  with  adequate  and  efficient 
sewers,  and  the  eminent  engineers,  Sir  William  Cubitt  and 
Messrs.  Brunell  and  Walker,  inspected  the  works  and  con- 
firmed by  their  report  the  facts  stated. 


OPPOSITION   OF   GOVERNMENT.  1 55 

Although  the  remaining  districts  of  the  Metropolis  were, 
at  the  date  to  which  we  refer,  provided  with  Commissions 
of  Sewers  appointed  by  the  Crown,  yet  of  none  of  them  could 
it  be  affirmed,  in  1848,  that  their  system  of  sewage  was  com- 
plete, or  indeed  approached  completion. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  a  Government, 
jealous  of  Municipal  efficiency,  brought  all  its  weight  to  bear 
against  any  extension  of  the  powers  of  the  City,  and  employed 
persistently  its  influence  to  postpone  the  second  reading  of 
the  City's  Bill,  until,  finding  its  own  "Health  of  Towns" 
Bill  in  jeopardy,  the  Government  withdrew  its  opposition, 
and  the  City's  Bill  passed — thereby  conferring  immense  benefit 
upon  the  City,  and  indirectly  upon  the  Metropolis. 

The  steps  resorted  to  by  the  Government  in  opposition  to 
the  passing  of  that  measure,  were  such  as  should  never  have 
been  practised  by  any  administration  of  a  free  country ;  and 
were  we  to  disclose  what  came  to  our  knowledge  in  that  respect, 
it  would  cause  the  utmost  astonishment  to  the  freedom-loving 
people  of  London. 

The  Bill,  however,  having  become  law,  the  first  step,  in 
the  exercise  of  the  powers  it  conferred,  was  the  election  of  a 
Medical  Officer  for  the  City.  The  appointment  of  Mr.  Simon 
to  that  post  was  the  signal  for  an  outburst  of  journalistic 
criticism  in  the  Government  organs,  happily  unusual  on  the 
part  of  our  fair-dealing  press.  Misrepresenting  the  emolu- 
ment offered  to  that  gentleman  (^500  a  year  and  the 
retention  of  his  private  practice)  as  £$0  a  year,  the  censure 
inflicted  upon  the  Municipality  was  unstinted,  and  the  pre- 
dictions as  to  the  unfitness  of  the  City  Corporation  to  exercise 
Sanitary  powers  were  declared  to  be  most  abundantly  verified 


156  GRATIFYING    SANITARY    RESULTS. 

Yet  the  same  Government  promoted  that  highly-qualified 
gentleman,  whose  merits  had  been  first  discovered  by  the 
Corporation,  to  the  post  of  Medical  officer  to  the  Privy 
Council — thus  tacitly  admitting  the  judicious  exercise  of  the 
sanitary  powers,  the  bestowal  of  which  upon  the  City  they  had 
laboured  so  strenuously  to  prevent. 

Upon  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Simon,  the  City  of  London 
selected  Dr.  Letheby,  the  celebrated  analytic  chemist,  to  be 
his  successor.  Eighteen  years  have  now  elapsed  ,  since  the 
City  obtained  and  began  to  exercise  its  increased  powers — 
a  period  long  enough  to  afford  facts  sufficient  for  safe 
generalization.  It  happens,  also,  singularly  enough,  that  the 
period  in  question  opens  and  closes  with  a  visitation  of 
cholera.  In  1849,  in  1854,  and  again  in  1866,  that  epidemic 
paid  the  Metropolis  a  visit.  Let  us  endeavour  to  ascertain 
how  a  free  Municipality,  with  adequate  powers  accorded 
to  it,  is  able  to  grapple  with  that  class  of  disorders  (alvine) 
to  which  cholera  is  allied. 

By  dividing  the  period  of  eighteen  years — 1849  to  1866 — 
into  three  periods  of  six  years,  and  comparing  the  results  of 
sanitary  measures  upon  the  deaths  in  each  period,  we  obtain 
means  for  testing  the  progress  of  sanitary  improvement, 
since  the  period  when  the  City  Commissioners  of  Sewers 
obtained  their  powers  for  dealing  with  disease  within  their 
jurisdiction. 

The  following  table,  compiled  from  figures  obligingly 
furnished  us  by  Dr.  Letheby,  enables  us  to  illustrate  statis- 
tically the  improved  and  improving  sanitary  condition  of  the 
City,  since  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Simon  and  himself  as 
Officers  of  health  for  the  City  of  London  : — 


SANITARY    IMPROVl 


157 


The  Total  Number  of  Deaths  in  the  City,  in  the  Years  1 849  to 
1866,  with  the  Proportions  of  Deaths  from  Alvine  Disorders. 


Years. 

Deaths  from 
Total  Number      Alviiie  Dis- 
of  Deaths,      orders  amongst 
Adults. 

Ratio  per  1,000 
of  all  Deaths. 

Ratio  per  10,000 
of  Population. 

1849 

3>763 

825^ 

1850 

2,752 

54 

1851 

2,978 

23 

1852 

3»<>64 

37 

64-2 

93 '5 

1853 

3>°40 

43 

1854 

3*335 

233^ 

1855 

3,400 

881 

1856 

2,910 

34 

1857 

2,904 

38 

. 

I4-2 

20  "O 

1858 

2,883 

38 

1859 

2,911 

3i 

i860 

2,747 

23^ 

l86l 

2,845 

24- 

1862 

2,726 

15 

1863 

2,870 

22 

I2'5 

181 

1864 

2,900 

20 

1865 

2,673 

18 

1866 

2,544 

109. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  simultaneously  with  the  progress 


158 


CHOLERA  DEATH-RATE  REDUCED. 


of  sanitary  measures,  since  the  exercise  of  powers  bestowed  in 
1848,  the  mortality  from  alvine  disorders  has  been  steadily 
declining;  for,  while  in  the  first  period  of  six  years — 1849  t0 
1854 — the  average  mortality  from  such  disorders  was  at  the 
rate  of  64*2  per  1,000  deaths,  or  93*5  per  10,000  of  the  popu- 
lation ;  it  was,  in  the  next  period  of  six  years — 1855  to  i860 — 
but  14*2  per  1,000  deaths,  or  20  per  10,000  of  the  popu- 
lation;  whilst,  in  the  six  years  which  have  just  expired,  1861 
— 1866,  it  was  12-5  per  1,000  deaths,  or  18*1  per  10,000  of  the 
population. 

With  respect  to  the  diminished  mortality  from  alvine 
disorders  at  each  successive  visitation  of  cholera  within  the 
period  of  eighteen  years,  the  proportions  of  mortality  in  the 
City  of  London  were  as  follows  : — 


Visitations  of  Cholera. 

Ratio  per  1,000  of  all 
Deaths. 

Ratio  per  10,000  of 
Population. 

1849 
1854 
1866 

2I9'2 
69-8 
42-8 

63'5 

i8-5 
9*5 

Such  has  been  the  progress  within  the  City  as  the  result 
of  sanitary  improvement,  that  the  one  ratio  has  fallen  from 
219*2  to  42*8,  and  the  other  from  63-5  to  9*5  ! 

But  a  more  striking  testimony  to  improved  Sanitary 
action  is  aiforded  by  the  figures  understated,  which  tell  of 
the  extent  to  which  the  force  of  cholera  has  been  reduced  at 
successive  visitations  since  1848,  and  of  the  comparative 
immunity  of  the  City  in  relation  to  that  disease  in  1866. 


FORCE   OF    CHOLERA   ABATED. 


159 


Proportions  of  Deaths  from    Cholera,  in    London    and   other 

Cities  and  Towns  of  Europe. 

(Furnished  by  the  City  Medical  Officer.) 


Fears. 


Cities. 


Populations. 


Deaths 

from 

Cholera. 


Ratio  of 

Deaths 

per  10,000 

of 
Population 


1849 
1864 
1866 


London,  City  and  Liberties 


Metropolis 

„     Eastern  Districts. 

,,     Central 

Liverpool    

Paris  (1865)    

Vienna 

Naples 

Amsterdam 


Ditto,  with  other  Dutch 
Towns 


I 


Brussels 


Ditto,    with   other     Bel- 
gian Towns 


130,000* 
126,060* 
114,472* 

3*037,991 
607,945 
359,219 
484,373 

1,696,141 
560,000 

446,931 
262,691 

826464 

184,932 

634,344 


728 

211 

93 

5,548 

3,969 

329 

i,754 

6,653 

2,875 

2,301 

1,104 

8,872 
3,028 
[1,771 


56-0 

16.7 

8-i 

18-2 

65*3 
9-2 
36-2 
39-2 
5i'3 
5i'5 
42*0 

107-3 
1637 
185-6 


We  see,  then,  that  the  City  of  London  has  not  only  been 
less  and  less  subject  to  the  epidemic  at  each  recurring  visi- 
tation, but  that  during  the  last  visitation  it  stood  more  free 
from  the  disease  than  the  Central  or  Eastern  Divisions  of  the 


*  Nocturnal   populations  of   the  City  and   Liberties,    subject   to   the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers. 


i6o 


GENERAL  DEATH-RATE  IMPROVED. 


Metropolis,  which  abut  upon  its  confines,  and  that,  when 
compared  with  the  other  chief  cities  of  Europe,  its  immunity 
from  the  pestilence  is  very  marked. 

The  Eastern  Metropolis,  it  will  be  seen,  had  3,969 
deaths  from  cholera  in  1866,  against  93  in  the  City.  Had 
the  Eastern  Metropolis  been  furnished  with  free  Municipal 
organization,  and  had  it  been  in  a  position  to  wrest  from  an 
unwilling  Government  adequate  powers  to  organize  a  staff  of 
competent  and  well-paid  Sanitary  officers,  the  death  figures 
would  not  have  made  so  sad  a  record  in  the  statistics  of  the 
Metropolis. 

The  City  of  London  now  occupies  no  second  place,  as  it 
regards  the  average  death-rate  j  indeed,  of  urban  popu- 
lations it  occupies  one  of  the  highest  positions;  as  will  be 
seen  by  inspection  of  the  following  table  from  Dr.  Letheby's 
annual  report  for  1866  : — 

Death-rate  per  1,000  of  the  Populations  of  England  for  Ten 
Years,  and  for  the  last  year,   1866. 


Districts. 

Average  of  10  Years. 

1866. 

26*4 

28'2 

2i-3 
24-8 

24'0 

24*3 
19-9 

22'2 

23'8 
26'8 

i8-2 

22*2 
26*2 
267 
20-3 
23*4 

West  London  Union 

The  Metropolis 

Districts  of  Chief  Towns  . ,.; 

All  England    , 

SANITARY    CONDITION    OF    CITY    IMPROVED.  l6l 

These  proportions  shew  that  the  Sanitary  condition  of 
each  district  of  the  City  has  greatly  improved  during  the  last 
ten  years,  the  average  death-rate  having  been  reduced  to  the 
extent  of  about  u  per  cent.  They  shew,  also,  that  the 
mortality  in  the  City  is  much  less  than  that  of  the  whole 
Metropolis  and  of  the  large  towns  of  England.  It  stands,  . 
indeed,  exactly  at  the  average  proportion  (22*2)  for  all 
England  during  the  last  ten  years.  It  will  be  seen  further, 
that  comparing  the  average  of  the  last  ten  years  with  the  year 
which  is  just  past,  the  ratio  of  the  death-rate  has  risen  in  the 
Metropolis,  in  the  Chief  Towns,  in  the  Country  districts,  and 
in  all  England ;  whilst  it  has  declined  considerably  in  the  City 
of  London  and  in  each  of  its  divisions,  as  follows : — 

It  has  risen  in  the  Metropolis from  24-0  to  26*2 

Ditto  in  the  Chief  Towns    from  24*3  to  267 

Ditto  in  the  Country  Districts...  from  19-9  to  20*3 

Ditto  in  All  England    from  22*2  to  23*4 

It  has  declined in  the  whole  City...  from  24*8  to  22*2 

Ditto  in  East  London  (City)   ...  from  26*4  to  23*8 

Ditto  in  West  London  (City)  ...  from  28*2  to  26*8 

Ditto  in  City  Union  (Centre)  ...  from  21-3  to  18 '2 

If  it  should  be  attempted  to  be  shewn  that  these  results 
are  accidental,  the  following  table  of  the  amount  and  pro- 
gression of  one  section  only  of  sanitary  work  will  prove  that, 
whether  accidental  or  not,  the  results  have  been  proportionate 
to  sanitary  activity.  Other  illustrations  of  the  same  kind  could 
be  adduced  did  our  space  permit. 


162 


RESULTS    OF    INCREASED    ACTIVITY. 


Number  of  Inspections  of  Houses  and  of  Orders  issued  for 
Sanitary  Improvement  in  the  City  of  London  in  each  of 
the  last  eleven  years : — 


Years. 

Houses  Inspected. 

Orders  Issued. 

1856 

5>40i 

1,215 

1857 

5»924 

2,031 

1858 

7,786 

1,721 

1859 

9,587 

1,984 

i860 

9,448 

2,472 

l86l 

9,425 

2,518 

1862 

8,693 

2,455 

1863 

9,089 

2,443 

1864 

10,700 

3,179 

1865 

11,008 

3,33i 

,     1866 

12,213 

3,o68 

It  may  be  stated,  in  concluding  this  branch  of  the 
subject,  that  there  were  seized,  condemned  and  destroyed  in 
the  City  markets,  340,820  lbs.  of  meat,  besides  large  quan- 
tities of  fish,  game,  poultry  and  venison,  as  unfit  for  human 
food,  during  the  year  last  past,  being  nearly  double  the 
average  of  the  previous  year,  and  very  largely  in  excess  of 
the  quantity  formerly  seized,  evidencing  the  increasing  activity 
of  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers — that  branch  of  the  Corpo- 
ration which  is  specially  charged  with  Sanitary  matters 
within  the  City  of  London. 


To  pass  from  the  Embankment  hindrance  and  the  opposi- 


CIT1    SUGGESTS   THE   POLICE   SYSTEM.  163 

tion  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  the  increased  Sanitary 
powers  sought  by  the  City,  we  proceed  to  notice,  briefly, 
another  illustration  afforded  of  the  extreme  jealousy  of  effi- 
cient Municipal  administration  manifested  by  the  Executive 
Government.     We  allude  to  the  subject  of  Police. 

Here  again  the  Municipality  led  the  way  towards  improve- 
ment and  the  Government  followed;  here  again  the  latter 
ungratefully  attempted,  again  and  again,  to  supplant  the 
power  by  which  it  had  been  instructed. 

Until  a  very  recent  period  the  ancient  system  of  "  watch 
and  ward,"  exercised  by  all  the  male  inhabitants,  existed  in  the 
City,  the  Metropolitan  parishes  and  in  the  principal  Cities 
and  Towns.  This  watch  extended  to  the  night  only.  The 
Corporation  of  the  City  was  the  first  to  move  in  this  respect, 
by  obtaining  the  Act  10,  George  II.  Under  that  Act  they 
established  the  City  Nightly  Watch,  and  appointed  watchmen 
for  the  whole  City.  The  next  step  was  the  appointment  under 
their  corporate  powers  of  a  Day-Police,  consisting  of  100 
men,  uniformly  clothed,  placed  under  the  control  of  one 
head. 

It  was  from  these  rudimentary,  and  at  the  time  imperfect 
elements  of  a  Force,  acting  for  the  whole  ninety  parishes  and 
twenty-six  wards  of  the  City,  that  Sir  Robert  Peel  derived 
his  plan  for  creating  one  Force  to  supersede  the  divided  watch 
in  the  Metropolitan  parishes — that  this  was  the  case  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  The  report  of  the  Select  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  in  1828,  upon  which  the  measure  of  Sir 
Robert  was  based,  contains  the  following  : — 

"  Your  Committee  have  not  failed  to  observe,  that  the  City  of  London 
— from  the  nature  of  its  Magistracy,  the  description  of  its  various  public 


164  SIR    ROBERT    PEEL'S   TESTIMONY. 

officers,  the  gradation  and  subordination  of  their  various  classes,  the  divi- 
sion and  subdivision  of  its  local  limits — affords  an  example  of  that  unity 
and  of  that  dependence  of  parts  on  each  other,  without  which  no  well- 
constructed  and  efficient  system  of  Police  can  ever  be  expected.  If  such  a 
system  could  be  successfully  imitated  in  Westminster  and  its  Liberties,  and 
within  the  other  adjacent  parishes,  which  have  hitherto  formed  an  uncon- 
nected mass  of  scattered  and  uncontrolled  local  authorities,  considerable 
benefit  might  be  expected  to  ensue.  Your  Committee  are  not  prepared  to 
recommend  any  interference  with  the  powers  at  present  exercised  by  the 
Municipal  authorities  of  the  City  of  London  over  the  Police  and  Watch 
Establishments  of  the  City.  They  have  reason  to  believe  that  material 
improvements  have  been  recently  made  in  the  general  management  of 
these  Establishments ;  and  they  are  confident  that  no  petty  jealousies  as 
to  limits  of  exclusive  jurisdiction  will  prevent  a  cordial  concert  and  co- 
operation between  the  authorities  of  the  City  of  London,  and  those 
which  may  be  charged  with  the  maintenance  of  the  peace  in  an  adjoining 
district." — Report  of  Select  Committee,  House  of  Commons,  1828. 


The  Select  Committee  likewise  recommended  that  the  City 
should  have  the  option  of  maintaining  a  Police  Force  for  the 
Borough  of  Southwark — a  step  which,  we  fear,  they  were 
short-sighted  enough  to  decline.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Home 
Secretary,  in  introducing  his  Bill  in  1829,  for  creating  the 
Metropolitan  Police,  stated  expressly  that,  "The  Bill  did  not 
include  the  City  of  London,  because  it  was  already  under  an 
efficient  Police" — "  Times,"  May  20th.  "  Hansard  "  and  the 
"  Morning  Chronicle  "  report  more  fully  and  explicitly  :  "  Mr. 
Peel  said,  If  the  City  had  not  been  included,  it  was  because 
the  Committee  had  reported  that  the  state  of  the  nightly 
Police  there  was  much  superior  to  that  of  Westminster."* 
That  which  Mr.  Secretary  Peel  affirmed  in  1829,  Under-Secre- 
tary the  Hon.  Fox  Maule  (Lord  Panmure)  confirmed  in  effect 
some  years  afterwards.     He  said  in  his  place  in  Parliament : 


*  The    "Advertiser"    and    the    "Globe"    also    confirm    the    above 
statement. 


SIR    GEORGE   GREY'S   TESTIMONY.  1 65 

"  This  part  of  the  measure  having  been  considered  by  a  Committee  of 
the  House,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  the  members  forming  that  Committee, 
although  of  all  shades  of  politics,  have  come  almost  to  a  unanimous 
decision  in  favour  of  the  opinion  which  has  been  so  strongly  expressed, 
that  the  control  over  the  Police,  in  the  City  of  London,  ought  to  be  left  in 
the  hands  of  those  who  now  exercise  that  power.  They  are  convinced  that 
a  good  and  efficient  Police  would  be  kept  up  under  their  superintendence. " 

That  which  Mr.  Secretary  Peel  affirmed  in  1829,  and  Mr. 
Secretary  Fox  Maule  reaffirmed,  Sir  George  Grey,  in  effect, 
repeated  in  1856,  on  the  occasion  of  introducing  a  Bill 
for  the  "  Reform  "  of  the  Corporation.  He  said,  referring  to 
the  claim  of  the  City  to  exercise  its  ancient  right  of  watch 
and  ward  within  its  own  jurisdiction  : — 

14  If  this  were  a  new  claim  made  by  the  City  of  London,  I  think  there 
would  be  no  reason  for  entertaining  it ;  but  we  find  that  under  the  powers 
of  an  Act  of  Parliament  passed  many  years  ago,  a  most  efficient  body  of 
Police  was  established,  which  has  since  been  in  operation  under  the  control 
of  a  vsty  able  and  efficient  Commissioner.  .  .  .  Harmony  and  co-operation 
have  existed  between  the  Metropolitan  and  the  City  Police,  and  between 
the  Government  and  the  authorities  of  the  City  of  London.  The  utmost 
readiness  has  always  been  displayed  by  the  authorities  of  the  City  to  listen 
to  any  suggestions  which  have  been  made  by  me  with  regard  to  the  em- 
ployment of  the  Police,  and  when  it  has  been  thought  necessary  to 
strengthen  the  Police  Force  within  the  City  by  reinforcements  from  the 
Metropolitan  Police,  the  arrangements  have  been  readily  acquiesced  in  by 
the  authorities  of  the  City,  and  perfect  harmony  has  existed  between  the 
two  bodies.  ...  I  think  a  strong  case  of  practical  inconvenience  should  be 
established — stronger  than  any  which  I  am  prepared  to  say  has  yet  arisen 
— to  induce  Parliament  to  leave  that  Corporation  in  a  position  in  which  no 
Municipal  Corporation  in  the  country  is  placed — namely,  without  any 
Police  Force  under  its  own  management.  We  do  not,  therefore,  propose  to 
make  any  alteration  with  reference  to  the  City  Police,  which  will  be  left  as 
it  now  stands.  "^-Sir  George  Grey,  Home  Secretary,  April  I,  1856. 

Notwithstanding  the  repeated  testimonies  of  those  in 
authority  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Police  management  of  the 
City  of  London,  yet  attempts — fruitless  fortunately — were 
made  by  the  Whig  party  in  1839,  and  again  in   1863,  to  wrest 


1 66  THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  METROPOLIS. 

from  the  citizens  the  control  over  the  Force  which  protects 
their  property  and  conserves  the  peace  of  their  City.  We  do 
not  allude  to  the  subject  here  because  that  Force  demands 
any  vindication  at  our  hands.  The  duty  which  we  have 
attempted  to  discharge  in  a  former  chapter — a  duty  imposed 
upon  us  by  Sir  Richard  Mayne's  unwise  letter,  and  Mr.  E. 
Chadwick's  imprudent  use  of  it — does  not  justify  us  in 
alluding  further  to  this  subject  than  to  say,  that  the  attacks 
made  by  Government  upon  so  efficient  a  Force  afford  another 
striking  illustration  of  the  jealousy  with  which  the  Executive 
regards  the  independent  and  efficient  action  of  Municipal 
bodies. 

We  have  devoted  a  few  pages  to  the  necessary  vindication 
of  Municipal  Government  in  London,  not  so  much  on 
account  of  the  City— which  holds,  and  intends  to  retain,  its 
ancient  liberty  in  this  respect — as  for  the  sake  of  those 
Districts  of  the  Metropolis  which  at  present  are  left  by  a 
negligent  Government  at  a  disadvantage.  Districts  which  in 
the  days  of  disorganization  and  weakness,  surrendered  to 
other  powers  which  should  have  been  exercised  by  them- 
selves j  and  who  will  never  be  constituted  as  independent  and 
duly  organized  representative  bodies,  will  never  exercise  the 
rights  of  free  Municipalities,  or  take  their  proper  place  beside 
the  great  Corporations  of  the  Empire,  until  they  cease  to  rail 
at  the  more  favoured,  because  more  free,  Municipality  of 
London,  and  demand,  in  tones  which  no  Government  can 
misunderstand,  every  right  enjoyed  by  the  City  and  by  the 
provincial  Corporations  of  the  Kingdom. 

And  this  introduces  us  to  the  question — What  of  the  future 
'  of  the  Metropolis  ? 

So  long  as  this  question  shall  be  left  to  the  initiation  of 


GOVERNMENT   HOSTILITY    TO    CITY.  1 67 

Government,  so  long  will  the  present  status  quo,  the  existing 

inaction,    continue  ;    and    London   will    resemble    nothing   so 

much    as    primeval    chaos.       Government    will    never   enter 

heartily  or  even  willingly  into  any  action   for  conferring  free 

representative  institutions,  in  any  form,  upon  three  millions  of 

Metropolitans.     To  do  so  would  be  inconsistent  with  every 

tradition  and  every  instinct  of  the  Executive.     The  struggles 

of  the  City  of  London  with  the  Ruling  power,  to  obtain  and 

then  to  retain  its  rights  of  self-government,  form  the  history 

of  800   years.     Under    Norman,   Plantagenet,  Tudor,  Stuart, 

and  Guelph,  it  has  been  the  same.     Every  right  has  been   paid 

for  three  times  over ;  every  immunity  has  been  lost  and  won 

again  and  again ;  forfeited   or  confiscated  by  arbitrary  power, 

then  reconferred  by  charter,  or  by  Parliament;  wrested   from 

unwilling  hands  by  a  happy  conjuncture  of  circumstances,  by 

tender  of  political  support,  or  by  payments  in  hard  cash. 

In  ancient  times  "  the  good  old  plan,"  a  simple  demand 
from  the  Crown,  sufficed  to  deprive  the  subject  of  his  rights  ; 
in  the  days  of  the  Stuarts  the  Star  Chamber  furnished  the 
convenient  machinery  j  at  the  present  date  a  Royal  Commis- 
sion, appointed  to  "  denote  a  foregone  conclusion,"  or  an 
undue  crowding  round  a  Royal  carriage  on  an  interesting 
occasion,  affords  a  convenient  mode  and  pretext  for  curtailing 
the  liberty  of  the  subject  j  or,  if  this  do  not  succeed,  then  the 
coveted  Naboth's  vineyard  may  be  obtained,  for  those  who 
desire  it,  by  the  aid  of  the  Jezebel  of  spurious  statistics.  All 
the  teaching  of  the  past  and  of  the  present  proclaims  that 
the  governing  power  will  never  willingly  and  spontaneously 
enfranchise  London.  We  dwell  upon  this  point  because  we 
believe  that  if  London  is  ever  to  be  self-governed  in  the  con- 
stitutional sense,  if  it  is  ever  to  take  its  place  beside  the  City, 


1 68  LONDON    WORTHY    OF    REPRESENTATION. 

and  Liverpool,  and  Edinburgh,  and  the  other  free  towns  ot 
the  Empire,  it  must  be  outspoken,  and  must  act  for  itself. 

There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  London  is  the  brain  of  the 
Empire.  It  is  the  very  centre  and  focus  of  literature,  thought 
and  journalism;  those  who  know  London  will  admit  also 
that,  for  activity,  intelligence  and  every  business  quality,  the 
Londoner  is  -in  advance  of  his  provincial  brethren.  If  Dr. 
Johnson  could  affirm  in  his  day,  "  I  will  venture  to  say  there 
is  more  learning  and  science  within  the  circumference  of  ten 
miles  from  where  we  now  sit  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  King- 
dom," what  would  be  his  testimony  now  that  the  population 
of  that  area  has  trebled,  now  that  the  penny  post,  cheap 
journalism,  the  steam  press,  and  paper  duty-free  have  revolu- 
tionized the  kingdom  of  literature,  over  which  he  exercised  so 
despotic  and  dogmatic  a  sway  ?  And  who  shall  dare  to  aver 
that  the  inhabitants  of  that  area  are  now  incapable  of  self- 
government,  or  unworthy  of  being  intrusted  with  the  powers 
exercised  judiciously  by  their  provincial  brethren  ?  The  very 
suggestion  savours  of  intolerable  arrogance,  and  should  stim- 
ulate freemen  by  inheritance  to  determine  to  become  freemen 
de  facto.  But  this — we  repeat  it  emphatically — will  never  be 
volunteered  by  Government,  it  will  never  be  obtained  until  it 
is  extorted;  nor  will  London  extra  find  hearty  co-operation 
rendered  by  more  favoured  districts,  either  in  the  City  or  in 
the  provinces,  until  it  shall  demand  perfect  equality  of  rights 
with  those  districts;  for  be  it  noted,  the  surrender  of  one 
iota  of  constitutional  freedom  by  the  great  Metropolis  will 
be  but  the  signal,  the  precedent  and  the  excuse,  for  the  with- 
drawal of  the  same  share  of  freedom  from  others. 

It  may  be  assumed  as  an  axiom  in  this  respect,  that  to 
lower  the  standard,  to  abate  any  reasonable  demand,  will  be 


DISARRAY    OF   THE    METROPOLIS.  1 69 

to  court  defeat  and  humiliation.  It  is  not  a  special  favour 
which  is  involved  in  the  demand  of  Municipal  organization, 
it  is  a  constitutional  right,  which  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be 
withheld  by  any  Government  professing  to  rule,  or  Parliament 
professing  to  legislate,  in  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution. 

The  whole  local  government  of  the  Metropolis  outside  the 
City's  boundaries  is  an  usurpation  of  popular  rights.  Govern- 
ment by  Parochial  Vestries,  or  by  a  Board  of  Works,  or  by  a 
Prefect  of  Police,  are  unknown  to,  and  unrecognized  by,  the 
constitution  in  reference  to  even  a  third-rate  town  in  this 
country.  The  very  existence  and  perpetuation  of  such  a 
system  amongst  a  population  of  3,000,000 — constituting  as 
they  do  one-seventh  of  the  people  of  England  and  Wales — is 
fraught  with  danger  to  our  constitutional  freedom,  is  ener- 
vating to  the  manly  independence  of  Englishmen. 

Some  have  selected  illustrations  of  the  existing  disarray 
of  the  Metropolis  by  pointing  to  our  never-finished  public 
buildings,  our  national  "  cruet-stands,"  "  pepper-boxes  " 
and  "  boilers,"  our  pig-tailed  and  legless  statues,  the  defective 
state  of  our  roads,  the  insufficiency  of  our  water  supply,  the 
feeble  flicker  of  our  street  lamps,  the  fustiness  of  our  public 
conveyances,  the  gradual  "  annexation "  of  our  open  spaces, 
and  the  perils  of  our  streets — all  these  subjects  are  im- 
portant, doubtless,  in  every  social  and  artistic  point  of 
view,  and  might  and  would  be  remedied  by  the  establishment 
of  efficient  local  organization.  But,  to  our  mind,  there  are 
more  important  and  more  serious  aspects  of  the  case  than 
even  these.  We  have,  in  London,  the  despotic  government 
of  Paris  without  its  brilliancy — the  same  irresponsible  head  of 
the  police  without  the  urbanity  to  rich  and  poor  which  there 
tempers  his  despotism.     If  we  visit  Paris,  Vienna,  or  Rome,  we 


170  POLICE    DEVELOPMENTS. 

expect  espionage  as  naturally  as  we  look  for  museums,  but  we 
shrink  from  it  in  London,  and  to  be  placed  on  the  list  of 
suspects  while  pursuing  one's  lawful  calling,  to  be  dogged  by 
strangers,  six  feet  high  and  of 'military  aspect,  reminds  one 
that  we  have  fallen  upon  degenerate  days,  and  that  English 
liberty  is  not  what  it  was.  We  tremble  for  the  freedom  of 
the  press — "  The  bulwark  of  our  liberties,"  as  the  Whigs  used 
to  toast  it  at  public  dinners — when  we  hear  of  a  police  agent 
lifting  a  proof,  as  a  paid  employe,  in  a  London  printing  estab- 
lishment. We  wonder  whether  he  has  read  our  lucubrations 
as  they  passed  through  the  press,  and  if  he  has  reported  them 
at  head-quarters,  or  whether  he  is  still  employed  in  instructing 
the  Russian  Government  how  to  introduce  the  paternal 
Metropolitan  system  into  Warsaw.  We  witness  with  appre- 
hension the  tunic  and  the  helmet  superseding  the  civil  hat  and 
dress  of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  the  attempts  made  from  time  to 
time — and  only  restrained  by  the  voice  of  public  opinion — to 
arm  the  Police  with  swords.  We  entertain  an  old-fashioned 
dislike  to  a  Police  Commissioner  riding  at  the  head  of  a 
Division  of  Police  Cavalry,  whether  at  Hyde  Park  or  elsewhere. 
The  old  distinctions  between  the  Magistrate  and  the  Military 
officer — between  the  civil  constable  and  the  soldier — have 
been  well  nigh  obliterated  during  the  last  thirty  years.  The 
thief-takers,  or  those  who  should  be  the  thief-takers,  are  being 
rapidly  transformed  into  a  division  of  the  Household  Brigade. 
The  infection,  also,  is  spreading  from  the  Metropolis  to  the 
Provinces,  for  we  read  with  regret  such  paragraphs  as  the 
following,  in  many  of  the  annual  reports  of  the  provincial 
towns  : — 

"Colonel  W ,  the  Government  Inspector  of  Constabulary  for  the 

Northern  Division  of  England  and  Wales,  inspected  the  Force  on  the  nth 

of  May  ;  the  men  paraded  at  the  Camp-field,  E ,  in  battalion  order, 

and  \itxt  put  through  a  variety  of  military  movements  !  " 


REMEDIES    SUGGESTED.  I  7  I 

Seeing  and  pondering  these  things,  we  wonder  when  the 
jealousy  of  Parliament  will  awake  to  take  notice  of  a  standing 
army  of  25,000  well-drilled  soldiers,  entirely  independent  of 
its  annual  vote,  not  subjected  to  its  Mutiny  Act,  and  prac- 
tically in  the  pay  and  under  the  control  of  the  Home 
Secretary.  We  ask  ourselves,  also,  what  will  be  the  end  of  a 
system  which  throws  off,  annually,  thousands  of  men  instructed 
in  military  drill,  and  composing  the  lowest  strata  of  the  several 
forces,  to  furnish  Fenianism,  or  any  kindred  disaffection,  with 
materials  prepared  for  explosion,  to  the  great  peril  of  intro- 
ducing another  continental  institution — the  "  barricade  " — 
into  our  streets.  Wrong  doing  is  inevitably  followed  by 
inconvenience  and  suffering;  and  if  the  flagrant  departures 
from  constitutional  principles  involved  by  our  recent  police 
developments  be  not  followed  by  social  and  political  evil,  then 
all  past  history  has  been  written  in  vain. 


But  to  the  remedy  for  all  this  evil,  which  lapse  of  time 
has  permitted  to  grow  j  which  the  City  of  London  might  in 
former  ages  have  dealt  with  piecemeal,  had  it  not  been  short- 
sighted and  perhaps  selfish ;  evil  which  no  Government  will 
now  deal  with  except  by  palliatives,  by  sedatives,  by  cajolery, 
or  by  delay. 

The  remedies  proposed  have  been  more  various  than 
clearly  defined.  Some  have  suggested  Paris  as  our  model ; 
with  an  administration,  practically  a  branch  of  the  Im- 
perial Government,  with  a  Prefect  and  Mayors  appointed 
by  and  amenable  to  the  will  of  the  Crown.  The  whole 
regulated  and  presided  over  by  a  high  official  of  the 
Haussman  type,  to  be  intrusted  with  the  responsibilities  of 
demolishing  and  reconstructing,  of  feeding,  protecting,  amus- 
ing  or   oppressing   the    people,    as   the    circumstances    may 


172  THE    PARISIAN    MODEL. 

require;  who  will  appoint  the  octroi  upon  food  and  articles 
of  domestic  consumption,  regulate  prices,  head  the  police, 
determine  the  character  of  theatrical  performances,  watch 
over  the  correspondence  of  the  people  as  it  passes  through 
the  post-office,  "  regulate  "  vice,*  and  perform  paternal  duties 
of  censorship  for  the  press.  This  model  of  local  government 
finds  some  advocates,  as  is  very  natural,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Home  Office  and  of  Scotland  Yard,  and  imitation  at  a  respectful 
distance,  combined  with  admiration  of  its  full-blown  official 
development  on  the  Continent,  are  not  wanting  in  certain 
quarters.  The  plant  is  externally  attractive,  but  exotic ;  it 
could  not  survive  here,  even  for  a  twelvemonth ;  our  con- 
stitutional climate  would  disagree  with  it,  and  the  inevitable 
up-rooting,  which  must  succeed  its  planting,  would  destroy 
much  that  it  is  our  wisdom  to  conserve.  Freedom  of  the  press 
and  of  speech,  Trial  by  Jury,  the  independence  of  Parliament 
and  the  liberty  of  the  subject,  would  be  alike  incompatible 
with  a  central  despotism  ruling  from  Whitehall. 

Another  model  has  been  set  before  us — the  constitution  of 
"  Adelaide  in  South  Australia  "  is  commended  as  precisely  the 
thing  to  suit  the  metropolis  of  the  British  Empire.  The 
author  of  this  suggestion  finds  a  city  on  the  banks  of  the 
Thames,  founded  by  the  Romans  before  the  Christian  era,  and 
furnished  by  that  ingenious  people  with  the  germs  of  Muni- 
cipal institutions — a  city  which  wrung  a  chartered  acknow- 
ledgment from  the  Norman  conqueror,  which  has  since 
withstood   the   wear   and    tear    of    800    years,    and    is    still 

*  The  recognition  of  Prostitution  and  its  "  regulation  "  by  the  State  in 
our  garrison  towns,  has,  since  the  publication  of  the  First  Edition  of  this 
work,  been  placed  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Metropolitan  Police. 
Introducing  thus  another  Continental  institution,  which  has  made  Paris  a  sink 
of  immorality,  and  rendered  freedom  of  the  subject  impossible  in  that  City. 


THE    AI-KI  AIDE    MODEL.  173 

young,  vigorous  and  prosperous ;  transacting  a  commerce 
within  its  limits,  exceeding  that  of  any  city,  either  in  ancient 
or  modern  times,  paying  one  half  of  the  customs'  duties  of  the 
kingdom,  and  employing  more  shipping  than  any  other  port ; 
seeking  no  change  but  such  as  the  vast  lapse  of  time  and  its 
own  wondrous  growth  have  rendered  indispensable ;  wanting 
only  more  room  to  trade,  and  greater  facilities  for  its 
ever-increasing  population  and  traffic  j  without  a  sign  of 
decay  or  decadence ;  possessed  of  a  proud  history,  inspiriting 
traditions  and  associations  intimately  interwoven  with  the 
biography  of  the  heroic,  the  great  and  the  good  in  the  past. 
He  turns,  however,  from  such  a  city  and  its  experiences,  which 
have  outlived  many  a  monarchy,  and  witnessed  half  a  dozen 
dynasties;  and  looking  round  the  world  for  something 
stable,  lasting  and  reliable,  he  lights  at  the  antipodes 
upon  the  object  of  his  search — seated  amongst  squatting 
aborigines  and  kangaroos — a  city  with  a  constitution  which 
has  actually  weathered  a  quci7-ter  of  a  century  ;  this  is  held 
up  as  the  model  for  local  government  of  the  British  Metro- 
polis, to  put  to  shame  the  ignorance  of  the  past,  and  to 
illustrate  the  profound  wisdom  of  the  doctrinaire  of  the 
nineteenth  century. 

Sir  William  Fraser  likewise  has  a  project.  He  has 
written  amusingly  and  cleverly,  if  not  conclusively,  on  the 
subject.*  He  would  institute  Municipal  government  for  the 
Metropolis  on  the  old,  well-tried  and  time-honoured  fashion. 
He  has  a  great  respect  for  the  institution  of  the  "  Lord 
Mayor."  He  believes  in  its  utility,  and  thinks  that  the  pres 
tige  of  the  title  and  of  the  office  is  indestructible.  Yet  when 
he  comes  to  particulars,  and  enters  upon  the  details  of  his 

*  "  London  Self-Governed."     By  Sir  W.  Fraser,  Bart. 


174  SIR   WILLIAM    FRASERS    PLAN. 

scheme,  we  discover,  if  we  have  clearly  apprehended  his 
meaning,  that  it  is  the  name  and  title  rather  than  the  insti- 
tution itself  which  he  would  conserve.  Sir  William  would 
confer  Municipal  government,  but  the  highest  functions  of 
administration  he  would  devolve  upon  a  "  Chief  Council,"  to 
be  elected,  not  by  the  people,  but  by  the  Common  Council, 
whilst  the  "  Chief  Council "  in  its  turn  would  elect  a  Lord 
Mayor.  The  project  appears  to  us  to  be  a  cross  between  the 
constitution  of  the  Corporation  of  London  and  that  of  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works.  It  is  neither  corporate  nor 
bureaucratic,  but  shares  the  inconveniences  without  the  ad- 
vantages of  either  system  of  administration.  "  'Tis  neither 
fish,  nor  flesh,  nor  good  red  herring,"  picturesque  in  appearance, 
plausible  in  theory,  but  as  it  regards  practical  working,  it 
would,  we  fear,  make  "  confusion  worse  confounded." 

We  hope  that  we  do  no  injustice  to  Sir  William ;  but  as 
full  details  are  wanting,  and  he  evidently  anticipates  the 
opposition  of  the  City  to  his  "  Scheme,"  we  entertain  doubts 
respecting  his  intentions  to  bestow,  by  it,  the  powers  usually 
enjoyed  by  Municipal  Corporations.  He  says,  "  One  obstacle 
suggested  against  a  scheme  of  this  kind  is  the  probable 
opposition  of  the  City  ;  should  this  be  insuperable  I  am  for 
organizing  London  outside  the  walls."  When,  let  us  inquire, 
did  Sir  William  hear  of  opposition,  on  the  part  of  the 
City,  to  local  self-government,  in  any  form  consistent  with 
the  liberty  of  the  subject  ?  He  may  have  heard  of  opposition 
to  spoliation  of  cherished  rights,  but  never  of  opposition 
to  any  proposal  for  enfranchising  the  people.  The  whole 
history  of  the  City  has  been  one  struggle  for  their  own  rights 
and  for  those  of  others — from  the  period  when  they  sheltered 
the  sons  of  villains  and  refused  to  give  them  up  to  serfdom,  if 


CORPORATION    INQUIRY,    1854.  175 

they  had  tarried  in  the  City  for  a  year  and  a  day,*  down  to 
the  proud  day  when  arbitrary  power  striking  at  the  privi- 
leges of  Parliament  sought  in  vain  for  the  "  five  members  " 
who  had  found  safe  asylum  in  the  City  Sanctuary,  on  to  the 
past  century  within  which  the  City  has  taken  the  lead  in 
demanding — lo?ig  before  Parliament  was  prepared  to  grant  them 
— the  publication  of  the  proceedings  in  Parliament,  the  aboli- 
tion of  "  general  warrants,"  the  freedom  of  the  Slave, 
amelioration  of  the  Criminal  Code,  repeal  of  Dissenters' 
disabilities,  Catholic  Emancipation,  Civil  liberty  to  the  Jews 
and  Parliamentary  Reform.  It  augurs  ill  of  Sir  William's 
scheme  that  he  anticipates  the  opposition  of  such  a  City. 

The  Corporation  Inquiry  Commissioners  of  1854  have 
suggested  their  plan  in  the  following  words  : — 

"  Although  the  City  of  London  is  the  only  part  of  the  Metropolis 
which  possesses  a  Municipal  organization,  there  are  at  present  within  the 
Metropolitan  District  seven  Parliamentary  boroughs,  each  of  which,  with 
the  exception  of  Greenwich,  contains  a  large  number  of  inhabited  houses 
and  a  larger  population  than  the  City. 

"Of  those  seven  boroughs  five  received  the  right  of  returning  mem- 
bers to  Parliament  under  the  Reform  Act  of  1832  ;  and  we  concur  in  the 
opinion  expressed  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  in  his  evidence  given  before  our 
Commission,  that '  as  the  Legislature  has  already  decided  to  enfranchise 
other  portions  of  the  Metropolis  as  Parliamentary  boroughs,  the  Legis- 
lature ought  to  complete  the  work  by  enfranchising  them  for  Municipal 
purposes  also.'  We  think,  indeed,  that  if  an  attempt  were  made  to  give  a 
Municipal  organization  to  the  entire  Metropolis,  by  a  wider  extension  of 
the  present  boundaries  of  the  City,  the  utility  of  the  present  Corporation 
as  an  institution  suited  to  its  present  limited  area  would  be  destroyed  ; 

*  If  the  lord  sought  to  recover  his  villain  who  had  fled  to  the  City, 
he  sued  out  his  writ  de  nativo  habendo,  but  if  a  year  and  a  day  elapsed 
before  the  issue  of  the  writ  the  City  regarded  him  as  a  free-man,  and 
returned  answer  to  the  writ,  which  was  held   good,  "  Quod  CIVIT*  Lond* 

EST  ANTIQU'  CIVIT'  ET  CONSUETUDINEM  HABET  ET  HABERET  A  TEMPORE 
QUO  ETC*  QUOD  SI  ALIQUIS  SERVILISCONDITIONISMANSERITIN  CIV1TATE 
PER  UNUM  ANNUM  ET  UNUM  DIEM  QUOD  EX  TUNC  NON  ERIT  CAPT' 
VIRTUTE  BREVIS  DE  NATIVO  HABENDO." 


176  THE    COMMISSION    MANIFESTS    CAUTION. 

while  at  the  same  time  a  Municipal  administration  of  an  excessive  mag- 
nitude, and  therefore  ill  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  other  parts  of  the 
Metropolis  would  be  created.  But  we  see  no  reason  why  the  benefit  of 
Municipal  institutions  should  not  be  extended  to  the  rest  of  the  Metro- 
polis by  its  division  into  Municipal  districts,  each  possessing  a  Municipal 
government  of  its  own.  What  the  form  of  this  government  should  be, 
and  what  should  be  the  number  or  extent  of  the  districts,  are  questions 
not  lying  within  the  scope  of  our  Commission,  and  upon  which  we  are  not 
competent  to  express  any  opinion." — Report,  p.  xxxv. 

That  portion  of  their  recommendation  which  involves  the 
incorporation  of  the  seven  Metropolitan  Parliamentary 
boroughs  is  plainly  stated,  but  when  details  are  approached, 
the  Commission  consider  such  questions  as  "  not  lying  within 
the  scope  of  their  Commission."  We  are  consequently  left  very 
much  in  the  dark  as  to  their  views  respecting  the  united  action 
of  London  as  a  metropolis.  Indeed,  it  does  not  appear  that 
they  were  desirous  of  recommending  more  than  a  division  of 
the  Metropolis  into  eight  sections,  with  a  Board  of  Works 
"  for  the  management  of  public  works,  in  which  the  Metro- 
polis has  a  common  interest,"  whatever  these  terms  may  imply. 

The  Commissioners  impose  a  condition,  however,  "that 
the  plans  for  the  works  to  be  executed  should  be  submitted 
to  a  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council,  and  its  consent  obtained 
before  they  are  carried  into  effect."  Here  we  have  again 
recommendations  at  variance  with  the  practice  which  exists 
in  our  provincial  Cities  and  Towns,  and  a  determination 
manifested  to  reduce  London  in  point  of  independence  below 
the  least  considerable  corporate  towns  of  the  provinces.  The 
-Commission,  it  will  be  observed,  was  composed  of  three  of 
the  adherents  of  the  Whig  Government,  and  to  the  peculiar 
want  of  confidence  in  the  representative  system  which  charac- 
terises that  party,  we  must  attribute  the  timidity  which  marks 
their  recommendations.  With  what  admirable  caution  they 
affirm,  "  We  see  no  reason  why  the  benefits  of  Municipal  insti- 


a  commissioner's  private  opinion.  177 

tutions  should  not  be  extended  to  the  rest  of  the  Metropolis  by 
its  division  into  Municipal  Districts."  Yet  they  recommend 
that  when  so  provided,  nothing  should  be  left  them  to  do  but  to 
appoint  a  Board  of  Works  "  of  a  very  limited  number  of  mem- 
bers;" but  lest  these  very  limited  members  should  have  too  much 
influence,  they  are  to  design  nothing  and  to  execute  nothing 
but  what  shall  be  approved  by  a  Committee  of  the  Privy 
Council.  This  plan  resolves  itself  simply  into  a  delegation  of 
all  the  Municipal  functions  of  the  Metropolis  to  a  Committee 
of  the  Privy  Council,  with  the  exception  of  the  Police,  which  is 
to  be  specially  handed  over  to  the  Metropolitan  Police  Com- 
missioners. Is  it  surprising  that  although  this  Report  was 
issued  in  1854,  no  individual  has  been  found,  within  the  limits 
of  the  Metropolis,  so  demented  as  to  ask  Parliament  to  put 
its  recommendations  into  operation?  It  is  well  known  that 
the  leading  Commissioner,*  soon  after  signing  the  Report, 
expressed  his  opinion  to  a  deputation  which  waited  upon  him, 
to  the  effect  that  no  action  would  be  taken  upon  it,  summing 
up  his  personal  convictions  in  the  few  short  but  expressive 
words,  "  //  is  wise  to  leave  well  alone."  Perhaps  he  thought 
with  Lord  Bardolph — 

"  Much  more  in  this  great  work 
(Which  is  almost  to  pluck  a  kingdom  down 
And  set  another  up),  should  we  survey 
The  plot  of  situation  and  the  model ; 
Consent  upon  a  sure  foundation  ; 
Question  surveyors  ;  know  our  own  estate, 
How  able  such  a  work  to  undergo, 
To  weigh  against  his  opposite  ;  or  else, 
We  fortify  in  paper,  and  in  figures, 

*  Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis,  Bart. 


I78  mr.  mill's  proposed  bill. 

Using  the  names  of  men  instead  of  men.: 
Like  one  that  draws  the  model  of  a  house 
Beyond  his  power  to  build  it  :  who  half  through, 
Gives  o'er,  and  leaves  his  part-created  cost 
A  naked  subject  to  the  weeping  clouds, 
And  waste  for  churlish  winter's  tyranny." 

And  so  much  for  the  pretentious  but  insincere  and  inconclu- 
sive Report  of  the  Royal  Commissioners  of  1854. 

We  now  approach  the  consideration  of  the  best  digested 
and  completest  attempt  at  a  solution  of  the  Metropolitan 
problem  which  has  as  yet  appeared — we  allude  to  the  Bill 
introduced  into  the  Report,  of  the  Select  Committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  on  Local  Government  and  Taxation, 
1866 — laid  before  the  Committee  by  Mr.  James  Beal,  a 
member  of  the  St.  James's  Vestry,  and  which  Mr.  J.  Stuart 
Mill,  M.P.,  had  adopted  and  undertaken  to  introduce  into 
Parliament.  As  that  gentleman's  name  gives  weight  to  any- 
thing which  he  undertakes,  we  propose  to  devote  the  greater 
portion  of  our  remaining  space  to  a  consideration  of  the 
details  of  the  Bill  in  question.  It  is  entituled,  "  An  Act 
for  the  Establishment  of  Municipal  Corporations  within  the 
Metropolis" 

The  Bill  provides  that ; — 

1.  The  area  of  the  Metropolis,  as  defined  in 
the  Metropolis  Local  Management  Act,  1855 
(exclusive  of  the  area  of  the  City  of  London), 

be  divided  into  Ten  Municipal  Boroughs.  CI.  2,  Sch.  A. 

2.  These   Ten   Municipal   Boroughs  are  to 

be  termed,  respectively,  Sch.  A  : — 


DETAILS    OF    THE    BILL. 


I79 


1.  The  City  of  Westminster. 

2.  The  Borough  of  Kensington. 


3- 

4. 

5- 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 
10. 


Marylebone. 

Bloomsbury. 

Finsbury. 

Hackney. 

Tower  Hamlets. 

Lambeth. 

Southwark. 

Greenwich. 


3.  Each  of  these  Boroughs,  respectively,  to 
be  composed  of  Parishes  and  Districts,  and 
divided  into  Wards,  as  follows  : —  Sch.  A. 

We  have  added,  for  full  elucidation,  the  populations  of  the 
several  Parishes,  proposed  Wards  and  Corporations,  also  the 
suggested  numbers  of  Aldermen  and  Councillors  for  each 
Corporation. 


M 


Parishes  to  be  Included. 


Proposed  Wards. 


tfli 

2S|§5 


St.  Ann,  Soho  

The  Bolls  

St.  Clement's  Danes. 
St.  Mary-le-Strand ... 

St.  John,  Savoy  

St.    Paul's,    Covent ") 

Garden    } 

St.      Martin  -  in  -  the ") 

Fields i 

St.  James,  Westmin- ) 
ster $ 

St.  George,  Hanover ) 
Square  j 

St.  Margaret 

Close  of  St.  Peter  . . . 
St.  John 


17,426 
2,274 

15,592 

2,072 

380 

5,154 


35,326 
87,771 

30,407 

823 
87,483 


256,897 


Soho 

VStrand     

•  St.  Martin's  

St.  James  

Grosvenor  

Knights  bridge 

Pimlico  

<  St.  Margaret  (In.)  . 
i  St.  Margaret  (Out). 

j  St.  John 

Carried  forward. 


n 


54 


18 


79 


51 


18      7: 


i8o 


PROPOSED    DIVISIONS    FOR    THE    METROPOLIS. 


fi 

V  c 
I! 

1! 

Parishes  to  be  included. 

i 

§ 
i 

p. 

I 

Proposed  Wards. 

S 

■ 

S 

S 

if 

$ 
81 

3 

A 

II 

2£ 

1 

o  £ 

Is 

* 
s 

ra 
§ 

Chelsea  

Fulham  

Hammersmith 

63,439 

15,539 
24,519 

70,108 

Brought  forward... 

6-] 

fi 

6 

<>  r 

6 

6 

«J 
<n 

9 

6 
6 
8 

6 
6 
6 

6) 

D 

6 

0 
6 

G 
fi 
6 

9 

6J 

V) 
(J 
6 
6 

6 
6 

6 
fi 
6  J 

54 
42 

54 

60 

54 
264 

21 

2 
2 
2 
2 

2 

2J 

2^ 

3 

2 

2 

1 

2 

2 

2 

2, 

3 

2 

2 
2 

2 
2 
2 
S 

2J 

21 

2 

2 

2 

2 
2 

2 
2 
2J 

18 
14 

18 
20 

72 

(Chelsea  

Fulham   

Hammersmith 

|  Brompton : 

{  Kensington   

56 

M 

173,605 

f  Bayswater 

\  Paddington    

/  Bryanstone    

1  Portman 

J  Cavendish 

75,784 

161,680 
19,106 

to 

s 

Marylebone  

.    Hampstead   

Saffron  Hill  "\ 

72 

» 

1st.  John's  Wood 

Hampstead   

256,570 

7,148 

22,384 
9,867 
4,609 

17,392 
36,684 

198,788 

Hatton  Garden    1 

Ely  Rents  f 

Ely  Place  ) 

St.  Andrew,  Holborn  1 
above  Bars ) 

St .  George  the  Martyr 

St.  Sepulchre  (minus") 
part     in     City    of  > 
London) ) 

St.  George,  Blooms-) 
bury ) 

St.  Giles 

St.  Pancras    

St.  Luke's 

1 

c 
c 
3 

« 

Bloomsbury  

St.  Giles 

"Gray's  Inn  Lane 

Tottenham      Court 

Road    

i  Somers  Town   

Regent's  Park 

Camden  Town 

^Kentish  Town  

80 

296,872 

1  Finsbury 

)  St.  Luke's 

' 

57,073 

65,681 

1,455 

155,341 

i 

>* 

H 

b 

V. 

Clerkenwell  

Libertyof  Glasshouse ") 
Yard j 

(Clerkenwell  

1  Pentonville    

/"Islington    

18 

72 

£ 

iBarnsbury 

< Canonbury 

i  Highbury   

(.Holloway   

Carried  forward . . . 

279,550 

88  |352 

PROPOSED    DIVISIONS    FOR    THE    METROPOLIS. 


£a 

1 

i 

3 

s  . 

2 

3„ 

1, 

*9 

1 

Parishes  to  be  included. 

i 

Proposed  Wards. 

5 

I* 

! 

r 

I! 

0 

Brought  forward... 

264 

88 

352 

Stoke  Newington    ... 

6,608 

( Stok  e  Ne w  ington    . . . 
1  Kingsland  

8 

a 

•2 

H 

Hackney 

76,687 

Hackney 

6 

i 

<» 

H 

UW 

Shoreditch 

199,884 

<  Hoxton   

8 

60 

8 

20 

80 

d 

C  Shoreditch 

8 

•1 

(  Hackney  Road  

<  Bethnal  Green 

6 

■1 

Bethnal  Green 

105,101 

8 

2 

i 

Old  Artillery  Ground 

(.Victoria  Park  

c>. 

2j 

317,760 

r 

2,168 

Norton  Folgate    

Christ  Church,  Spital- ) 
fields    j 

1,873 
20,593 

Cspitalfields 

6 

2 

Mile  End,  New  Town 

10,8-15 

Whitechapel 

37,454 

1 

HolyTrinity,Minories 

420 

St.  Botolph,  without  1 
Aldgate  j 

St.  Catherine,  by  the  1 
Tower J 

4,000 
208 

I  Whitechapel! 

I 

9 

8 

S 

Old  Tower,  without . 

*626 

3 

Tower  of  London   ... 

783 

J 

S3 

St.     George' s-in-the- ) 
East   i 

48,891 

("St.  George' s-in-the- ) 
I     East  • 

9 

66 

8 

22 

88 

Mile  End,  Old  Town. 

73,064 

/-Mile  End  Old  Town,") 

J     w $ 

1  Mile  End  Old  Town,  j 

8 

9 

8 

8 

St.  John,  Wapping ... 

4,038 

{•Shadwell 

St.  Paul,  Shadwell... 

8,499 

8 

9 

Ratclitfe 

16,874 

Limehouse 

27,161 

Limehouse     

8 

a 

St.  Mary,  Stratford-) 
le-Bow i 

11,590 
24,077 

Bow 

8 

2 

St.  Leonard,  Bromley 

All  Saints,  Poplar  ... 

43,529 

Poplar 

9  J 

8J 

336,693 

r 

Putney    , 

6,481 

Putney    

T] 

n 

Wandsworth 

13,346 

Wandsworth 

8 

1 

Battersea  

Clapham 

19.M00 

20,894 

8 
R 

•J 

a 

a 

Tooting  

Streatham 

2,055 
8,027 

8 

54 

i 

18 

•< 

V2 

1  Waterloo    

8 

a 

Hi 

Lambeth , 

!» 

:; 

Lambeth 

162,044 

1  Kennington  

Brixton   

^Norwood 

8 

8 

8 

a 

a 

iJ 

232,447 

Carried  forward. . . 

444 

5" 

592 

82 


PROPOSED    DIVISIONS    FOR    THE    METROPOLIS. 


1! 

Parishes  to  be  included. 

1 
| 

t 

Proposed  Wards. 

S 

fe- 
ll 

o 
0 

8 

If 

o 

S 

u 

as 

< 

$. 
I 

•d 

11 

13 

o 

M 
M 

I 

& 

o 
02 

Christchurch    

;  St.  Saviour    

St.  Olave    

!  St.  Thomas    

St .  John,  Horselydown 

St.    George,    South-  J 
wark j 

Newington 

Bermondsey 

St.Mary.Rotherhithe 

Camberwell   

St.  Paul,  Deptford ... 
St.Nicholas,Deptford 

Greenwich 

Woolwich  

Plumstead , 

Charlton 

Lee  

Kidbrook    

Lewisham*    

Sydenham  Chapelry . 
.    Eltham   

17,069 

19,101 

6,197 

1,466 

11,393 

55,510 

82,220 

58,355 
24,502 

71,488 

Brought  forward... 
j  St.  Saviour    

VSt.  Olave    

(  Borough 

{  Kent  Road 

6^ 

8 

6 

3 

9 

9  f 

6 

6 

6 

6 
6 

6J 

9^ 

9 
9 
6 

6 

3 
3 

3. 

444 

72 

48 
564 

I 

1 

2 

1 

1- 

2 
2 
2 

2 

2 

2J 

3 
3 

a 

2 

1 
1 

l) 

148 
24 

16 

592 

(Walworth  

(  St.Mary,Bermondsey 
I  St.  James.Bermondsey 

Rotherhithe 

f  St.  George,  Camber- 

\      well  

j  Peckham 

Cst.  Giles,  Camberwell 

|  Deptford    

96 

347,301 

37,834 

8,139 

40,002 

41,*>95 

24,502 

8,472 

6,162 

804 

12,213 

10,595 

3,009 

« 

Greenwich 

ft 

64 

0) 

Sydenham  

188 

193,427 

752 

Clauses 

4.  Of  the  Boroughs  to  be  incorporated,  the 
City  of  Westminster  to  have  its  Mayor,  Alder- 
men and  Citizens ;  the  others  their  Mayors, 
Aldermen  and  Burgesses.  5  &  6 

5.  After  the  first  Election  each  Borough  to 
be  a  Corporation,  with  perpetual  succession, 
and   a   common   seal,  and  to   exercise  all  the 


*  Penge  omitted,  with  5,015  population. 


PARTICULARS    OF    CLAUSES.  183 

Clauses 
powers  and  authorities   which    Municipal    Cor- 
porations or  their  Councils  may  legally  have  or 
exercise.  7  &  8 

6.  At  the  first  election  of  Councillors,  etc., 
all  persons  then  qualified  to  vote  for  Vestrymen 

are  to  have  the  right  of  election.  n  &  13 

7.  At  all  subsequent  elections  the  provisions 
of  the  Municipal  Corporations'  Act  to  be 
observed.  14 

8.  Each  Borough  to  have  separate  Quarter 
Sessions,  and  Queen  to  appoint  Justices  of  the 

Peace.  15  &  16 

9.  Justices  of  the  Peace  to  have  all  the 
powers,  etc.,  of  Justices  in  a  City  or  Town 
Corporate  with  respect  to  licences,  etc.  16 

10.  Each  Corporate  Borough  to  have  a 
Stipendiary  Magistracy.  17 

11.  Present  Metropolitan  Police  Courts  and 
Offices  to  be  Police  Courts  and  Offices  of  the 

new  Boroughs.  18 

12.  A  new  Police  Court  to   be   established 

for  the  Borough  of  Bloomsbury.  1 9 

13.  Borough  Police  Courts  to  be  Metro- 
politan Police  Courts.  21 

14.  Appeals  from  the  Police  Courts  to  the 
Borough  Recorder,  if  any,  or  if  not,  then  to  the 
Central  Criminal  Court.  22 


184       '  PARTICULARS   OF   CLAUSES. 

Clauses 

15.  The  Corporation  may,  in  their  discre- 
tion, appoint  a  Watch  Committee,  upon  whom 
it  shall  not  be  imperative  that  they  appoint  Con- 
stables for  the  Borough  ;  but  no  Watch-rate 
shall  be  levied,  if  a  Watch  Committee  and 
Constables  be  not  appointed.  24 

16.  Her  Majesty  may  appoint  a  Recorder  to 
each  Borough,  fixing  his  salary ;  but  the  Council 

of  the  Borough  may  increase  such  salary.  25 

17.  Recorder  to  have  jurisdiction  of  Borough 
Justices  as  Court  of  Judicature.  26 

18.  Borough  Rates  may  be  made  for  any 
purposes  authorized  by  the  Act.  27 

19.  The  expense  of  the  Act  and  of  the  incor- 
poration of  the  Boroughs  to  be  paid  out  of  the 
Borough-rate.  28 

20.  Town  Halls  and  proper  offices  may  be 
provided.  29 

21.  Charitable  funds  may  be  transferred  to 
Councils  of  Boroughs.  30 

22.  Powers  under  "  Metropolis  Local 
Management  Acts "  to  vest  in  the  Boroughs.      .  31 

23.  The  total  number  of  Members  of  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  to  remain  as  it 
now  is  (45) ;  but  the  numbers  to  be  respectively 
elected  by  the  Borough  Councils  to  be  (43)  as 

set  forth  in  Schedule  D.  32 


PARTICULARS   OF   CLAUSES.  1 85 

Clauses 

24.  Existing  Contracts  to  remain  valid.  36 

25.  Existing  Debts  and  Liabilities  to  be  dis- 
charged by  the  Council  from  the  Borough-rate.  38 

26.  Compensation  to  be  made  where  Offices 

are  abolished,  or  Officers  removed.  41 

27.  The  Act  not  to  affect  the  City  of  London, 
or  the  powers,  privileges,  or  jurisdiction  of  any 

of  its  Officers.  44 

28.  The  Act  not  to  abridge  the  powers  of 
the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  except  as 
provided.  45 

29.  Inns  of  Court  not  to  be  affected  by  the 
Act,  except  by  the  transfer  of  the  powers  of 
Vestries  to  the  Councils  of  the  respective 
Boroughs.  46 

30.  Boundaries  and  Electoral  Franchise  of 
Parliamentary  Boroughs  to  be  maintained.  47 

31.  Acts  inconsistent  with  this  Act  to  be  re- 
pealed. 48 

32.  Section  248  of  the  "  Metropolis  Local 
Management  Act,  1855,"  only  to  apply  to  any 
of  the  Boroughs  on  the  petition  of  the  Council 

of  any  such  Borough.  49 

33.  Difference  between  Councils  of  different 
Boroughs  to  be  settled  by  Arbitration.  50 

34.  The  Queen  may  extend  the  Provisions  of 


1 86  PRINCIPLE   OF   BILL   OBJECTIONABLE 

this  Act  to  any  Parishes  adjoining  the  Metro- 
polis possessing  the  requisite  population,  upon 
petition  of  a  certain  number  of  inhabitant 
householders. 


Clause 


5i 


It  will  be  observed  that  it  is  proposed  by  the  above  Bill  to 
create  ten  new  Municipalities,  including  the  City  of  West- 
minster. To  these  ten  Corporations  are  to  be  extended 
generally  the  powers  exercised  by  Provincial  Corporations 
under  the  Municipal  Corporations'  Act  for  England  and 
Wales. 

The  boundaries  of  the  several  Districts  to  be  incorporated 
inclose,  it  will  be  seen,  areas  with  populations  ranging  from 
347,301  to  173,605  inhabitants. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  principle  of  the  incorporation  of 
these  Districts,  or  on  the  ground  of  their  size,  populations  or 
rateable  values,  to  which  objection  can  be  taken.  Large 
enough  for  all  the  purposes  for  which  Municipal  institutions 
exist,  but  not  so  utterly  unwieldy  as  a  Corporation  or  Board 
for  the  whole  Metropolis  would  be  found  to  be.  The  Bill, 
therefore,  keeps  clear  of  the  difficulty  judiciously  pointed  out 
by  the  Commissioners  of  1854  (see  page  135),  in  relation 
to  one  administration  for  the  local  purposes  of  the  whole 
Metropolis. 

Upon  the  whole  the  Bill  may  be  regarded  as  the  first 
attempt  to  deal  comprehensively  with  the  subject ;  it  is  drawn 
perspicuously  and  intelligently,  and  had  it  proceeded  a  few 
steps  further  to  provide  for  the  solution  of  the  great  unsolved 
problem,  the  few  objections  which  occur  as  to  its  details  might 
have  been  easily  removed.  The  great  difficulty  which  presents 
itself  to  the  mind  of  every  inquirer,  is  not  how  local  action 


ITS    OMISSIONS    AND    DEFECTS.  1 87 

shall  be  obtained  in  the  several  Districts,  be  they  large  or 
small,  be  they  few  or  many ;  the  real  difficulty — which  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  grappled  with,  as  yet,  in  a  compre- 
hensive and  statesmanlike  spirit — is,  how  shall  efficient  united 
action  be  secured?  It  has  been  avoided  as  the  difficulty  when 
it  ought  to  have  been  mastered  ;  shirked  by  those  who  were 
appointed  or  expected  to  solve  it — unless  indeed  a  solution 
was  dreaded  and  so  not  desired. 

It  is  just  at  this  point  that  Mr.  Mill's  Bill  stops  short ; 
all  is  clear  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  all  is  darkness  beyond.  It  is 
probably  intended  that  a  Supplemental  Bill  shall  supply  what 
is  deficient,  but  the  public  will  naturally  suspend  judgment 
until  they  see  the  whole.  Any  one,  provided  with  a  pair  of 
scissors,  can  cut  up  the  map  of  London  into  two,  four,  seven, 
or  ten  portions,  but  the  test  of  statesmanship  will  be — who 
shall  provide  for  and  secure  the  harmonious  and  efficient 
co-operation  of  the  whole  ? 

The  grand  defect  of  the  Bill  is  the  omission  of  any 
cementing  power  or  appliance  for  the  whole  Metropolis ;  the 
great  blot  of  the  proposed  measure  is  the  attempt  to  retain  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  in  its  existing  anomalous  position 
with  reference  to  London.  That  Board  is  not  to  be  affected 
by  the  Bill  as  to  its  numbers  or  constitution ;  it  is  to  remain 
constituted,  therefore,  of  forty-five  representatives  (exclusive 
of  the  chairman,  who  sits  ex  officio).  But  Schedule  D  of  the 
Bill  gives  43  members  of  that  Board  to  the  new  Munici- 
palities j  leaving  the  City  but  two  representatives  in  place  of 
three,  as  at  present,  or  oifive,  which,  we  have  shewn  in  the  last 
chapter,  is  the  lowest  number  to  which  it  is  entitled  on  the 
grounds  of  population  and  rateability.  But  assuming  that 
this  is  an  oversight,  and  that  being  pointed   out,  it   should 


1 88  HOW   IS   LONDON   TO    BE   UNITED? 

be  remedied,  the  question  still  remains — how  can  a  Board 
of  Works,  however  fairly  constituted,  form  a  bond  of 
union  for  Municipal  London  ? 

There  must  arise  occasions,  and  that  constantly,  when 
London  will  be  expected  to  speak  in  the  name  of  London ; 
unless  our  legislators  intend  the  first  City  of  the  world  to 
remain  dumb  in  the  future.  There  must  arise  occasions, 
and  that  constantly,  when  London  will  be  expected  to 
receive,  to  compliment,  perhaps  to  entertain,  some  distin- 
guished personage,  foreign  potentate,  or  exalted  individual 
whom  London  may  delight  to  honour.  There  must  arise 
occasions,  and  that  constantly,  when  London  will  desire  to 
express  its  congratulations  on  some  auspicious  occasions  j  to 
celebrate  some  great  event,  social  or  political,  or  to  confer  a 
mark  of  distinction  upon  some  philanthropist,  or  heroic  com- 
mander returning  home  victorious,  some  benefactor,  scientific 
or  otherwise,  of  his  species,  some  statesman  who  shall  deserve 
well  of  his  country.  Is  London,  under  all  such  circumstances, 
to  be  silent  and  passive  ?  Is  the  Capital  of  the  British  Empire 
to  be  the  only  place  in  that  Empire  in  which  the  nation 
cannot  speak  through  its  local  representatives?  Or  will  it 
be  convenient  or  becoming,  (assuming  that  all  London  shall  be 
incorporated,)  that  a  portion  shall  speak  and  act  in  the  name 
of  the  whole.  Either  alternative  is  impossible.  If  Parlia- 
ment shall  add  ten  Municipalities  to  that  one  which  exists, 
and  no  bond  of  Union  be  discovered  or  provided,  then  London 
must  (assuming  that  unanimity  exists)  utter  eleven  voices,  or 
tender  eleven  congratulatory  addresses,  or  offer  eleven  recep- 
tions, or  provide  eleven  entertainments  ;  but  what  becomes  of 
the  voice  of  the  Metropolis  of  England — unless  it  is  intended 
that  an  aggregate  meeting  be  held  in  Hyde  Park  ?     What  will 


CAN    IT    BE    BY    FEDERATION  ?  1 89 

be  the  feelings  or  the  perplexity  of  the  unfortunate  individual 
who  shall  have  to  make  choice  under  such  circumstances,  or 
to  run  the  gauntlet  of  all  this  Municipal  kindness?  Or 
assuming  want  of  unanimity,  what  then  ?  Again,  is  it  not 
likely  that  occasions  will  arise  when  a  Board  of  Works, 
however  fairly  constituted,  will  not  be  able  to  supply  what 
aggregate  London  will  need — a  Chamber  of  Commerce,  for 
instance — which  must  arise  out  of  the  organization  of  the 
Metropolis,  even  if  it  be  not  constituted  at  an  earlier  date  ? 
The  City  will  be  chiefly,  but  not  by  any  means  exclusively, 
interested  in  the  questions  constantly  awaiting  solution  in 
such  a  Chamber. 

Again,  is  it  likely  that  the  newly  constituted  Municipalities 
will  surrender  all  control  over  their  Police  j  and  that  none  of 
them  will  claim  to  exercise  the  option  offered  in  the  Bill  in 
reference  to  the  most  important  right  of  self-government  ? 
Is  it  at  all  probable  that  they  will  consent  to  occupy  a  position 
inferior  to  the  City  and  to  the  Provincial  Municipalities  ?  And 
is  there  any  one  who  dreams  that  either  of  these  will  surrender, 
in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  what  they  have 
held  and  most  beneficially  exercised  in  all  time  past  ?  Where 
then  is  the  solution  of  this  and  of  the  other  difficulties  sug- 
gested ?  It  is  to  be  found  only  in  a  representative  Corporation, 
which  should  be,  for  all  purposes  not  strictly  local,  a  federated 
Corporation.  Under  such  a  Municipality,  a  united  Police  ruled 
from  the  centre,  with  all  proper  checks  which  our  limited  con- 
stitution knows  how  to  supply — a  Police  which  should  be  one 
for  purposes  of  co-operation  and  efficiency,  but  fairly  divisible 
amidst  all  parts  of  the  Metropolis  (which  it  is  not  at  present) 
for  the  prevention  of  crime  and  for  the  protection  of  person 
and   property,  would  be  practicable.     In   such  a  Police  the 


190  AGGREGATION    OF   LONDON. 

Sovereign  would  possess  a  power  of  appointment  or  veto,  but 
over  it  the  representatives  of  the  people  would  exercise  a 
watchful  control — as  in  our  provincial  towns  ;  so  that  abuses 
should  be  kept  in  check,  responsibility  secured,  and  petty 
tyranny  become  impossible. 

Such  a  Corporation  should  be  in  a  position  to  provide  the 
requisite  accommodation  for  aggregate  action,  public  recep- 
tions, festivity,  and  so  forth ;  such  a  Corporation  should  be 
possessed  of  the  prestige  and  weight  which  name,  locality, 
antecedents  and  traditions  can  alone  supply ;  such  a  Corpo- 
ration should  have  acquired  administrative  capacity  by  long 
years  of  experience  and  practice ;  such  a  Corporation  should 
be  able  to  afford  proof  that  it  had  been  prominent  beyond 
all  other  bodies,  in  reference  to  Metropolitan  improvements  in 
the  past ;  such  a  Corporation  should  be  representative  of 
the  whole,  in  other  words,  of  aggregate  London  ;  such  a 
Corporation  should  embrace  within  its  jurisdiction  the 
largest  amount  of  population,  rateable  value,  commercial  and 
trading  importance,  and  a  preponderating  share  of  wealth. 
All  these  elements  combined  in  one  Corporation  would  mark 
it  as  entitled  to  take  rank,  not  above  the  others,  but  as  primus 
inter  pares ;  the  position  would  be  accorded  to  it  naturally,  as 
of  right  of  precedence  ;  such  a  Corporation — whilst  others 
possessed  their  Mayors — should  be  presided  over  by  its  Lord 
Mayor,  who  would  enjoy  the  rank  and  dignity  conferred  by 
law — taking  precedence,  within  his  jurisdiction,  of  every 
subject  in  the  realm  j  such  a  Corporation  should  be  privileged, 
on  all  occasions  of  public  importance,  to  go  to  the  foot  of  the 
Throne ;  such  a  Corporation,  in  short,  would  be  the  Corpora- 
tion of  the  City,  reinforced  by  the  representatives  of  the 
Metropolis,  so  as  to  possess  all  necessary  powers,  privilege  and 


PRINCIPLES    SHADOWED    FORTH.  19I 

dignity,  and  to  become,  for  all  purposes  of  aggregate  action, 
the  crime  da  la  crime  of  Municipal  representation. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  difficulties  which  have  been 
suggested  in  relation  to  efficient  Municipal  action  in  the  Me- 
tropolis would  vanish  before  such  an  arrangement.  Men  of 
sufficient  social  position,  standing  and  acquirements  would 
come  forward,  seeing  within  their  reach  the  rewards  of  public 
service.  Some  would  be  induced  to  seek  the  office  of  Councillor 
in  the  local  Municipality,  some  the  higher  dignity  of  Alderman  ; 
whilst  the  latter  office,  leading  directly  as  it  should,  to  the 
dignity  of  Mayor  of  a  local  Corporation,  would  place  before 
the  occupier  of  that  position  the  possible  attainment  of  the 
highest  Municipal  post  in  the  Metropolis.  Such  a  Cor- 
poration would  draw  to  it  many  members  of  the  Imperial 
Legislature ;  it  has  been  ascertained  that  there  are  no  less 
than  sixty-eight  Members  of  Parliament  who  occupy  offices 
within  the  City;  of  these  a  certain  proportion  would  in- 
evitably be  attracted  to  take  part  in  such  a  Municipality,  and 
thus  afford  ample  opportunity  for  the  exposition  of  local 
administrative  affairs  in  the  House  of  Commons.  We  purposely 
abstain  from  details  in  this  place.  It  is  principles  for  which 
we  are  contending,  and  those  principles  founded  on  the 
ancient  and  long  tested  institutions  of  the  City  of  London 
adapted  to  their  new,  enlarged  and  altered  circumstances. 

We  speak  not  in  the  name  of  the  Corporation  of  that  City ; 
nor  do  we  know  what  they  may  think  of  suggestions  for 
which  we  are  alone  responsible  ;  but  we  know  enough  of  the 
public  spirit  which  animates  the  members  of  that  body  to  feel 
assured  that  they  would  rise  to  the  occasion,  and  take  their 
proper  position — the  front,  where  some  one  must  lead.     To 


192  THE    CITY   WOULD    LEAD. 

be  absorbed  into  a  Board  elected  by  the  Vestries,  to  remain 
standing  aloof  if  London-extra  be  incorporated,  to  submit, 
after  centuries  of  independence,  to  the  control  of  a  Board  at 
Whitehall,  would  be  to  them  impossible,  and,  if  possible, 
intolerable.  They  would,  we  believe,  march  with  the  times, 
adapt  themselves  to  their  new  position,  accept  their  fresh 
responsibilities,  and  maintain  proudly,  and  perpetuate,  so 
far  as  in  them  might  lie,  the  fair  fame,  the  freedom  and 
the  dignity  of  their  ancient  City. 


APPENDICES. 


i. 

REPORT  TO  COURT  OF  COMMON  COUNCIL  IN  1842,  OX 

THE  EMBANKMENT  OF  THE  THAMES,  ADOPTED 

BY  THAT  COURT. 

20th  January,  1842. 

"  To  the  Right  Honourable  the  Lord  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Commons 
"  of  the  City  of  London,  in  Common  Council  assembled : — 

"  We,  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed,  of  your  Committee  for 
"improving  the  Navigation  of  the  River  Thames,  and  for  preventing 
"  encroachments  on  the  said  River,  do  certify  that  serious  complaints  have 
"at  different  times  been  made  to  your  Committee  of  various  projections 
"  in  the  River  Thames,  occasioning  obstruction  to  the  navigation,  and 
"creating  on  the  adjacent  shores  deposits  of  mud  and  silt,  charged  with 
"  the  contents  of  sewers,  and  with  refuse  animal  and  vegetable  substances, 
1  '  equally  offensive  to  the  sight  and  dangerous  to  public  health.  These 
"projections,  it  appears,  have  been  erected  not  only  without  the  sanction 
"  of  your  Committee,  but,  in  some  instances,  in  avowed  defiance  of  their 
"  authority. 

"  In  order  to  place  the  Conservators  of  the  River  in  a  position  to 
"execute  their  authority  with  becoming  effect,  it  was  recommended  by 
"  counsel  that  they  should  immediately  cause  a  Survey  to  be  made  of  the 
"banks  and  bed  of  the  River,  within  the  limits  of  their  jurisdiction, 
' '  and  that  a  line  should  be  laid  down,  beyond  which  all  present  and  future 
"encroachments  upon  the  banks  should  be  removed,  by  whatever  authority 

13 


194  APPENDIX    I. 

"  and  under  whatever  circumstances  made,  and  regardless  to  whom  they 
"  might  belong  ;  and  in  order  that  the  Corporation  might  be  placed  upon 
' '  the  highest  possible  ground  in  the  course  they  were  about  to  adopt, 
' '  counsel  recommended  that  Engineers,  of  high  character  and  standing  in 
"  their  profession,  should  be  employed  to  act  with  the  officers  of  the  Com- 
' '  mittee  in  carrying  into  execution  the  proposed  survey,  and  report 

"Your  Committee  strongly  impressed  with  the  wisdom  and  importance 
' '  of  the  advice  they  had  received,  directed  application  to  be  made  to 
"Mr.  Walker,  the  President  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  (a 
"  gentleman  at  the  head  of  his  profession,  and  upwards  of  thirty  years 
"  engaged  in  engineering  works  upon  the  banks  of  the  Thames),  to  afford 
"his  valuable  aid  in  the  proposed  Survey;  and  they  also  made  a  similar 
' '  application  to  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty,  for  the  assist- 
"  ance  of  Captain  Bullock,  R.N.,  one  of  the  Hydrographers  of  that  Board, 
"a  gentleman  who  to  the  high  reputation  he  enjoyed  in  his  profession 
"  added  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  all  parts  of  the  Thames. 

"  Your  Committee  are.  happy  to  say  that  they  were  successful  in  both 
( '  applications,  and  those  gentlemen  have  made  a  thorough  inspection  of 
"the  River  Thames  through  the  whole  extent  of  the  City's  jurisdiction; 
"  they  have  likewise,  laid  down  upon  plans  prepared  for  that  purpose, 
' '  lines  on  each  bank,  and  have  accompanied  the  same  with  elaborate 
"reports  upon  the  state  and  condition  of  the  River,  its  existing  defects 
"  and  their  proposed  remedies." — [Report  then  states  approval  of  Committee 
of  the  suggested  plans,  and  proceeds.] — "  Your  Committee  are  of  opinion 
"  that  if  facilities  be  afforded,  as  suggested,  a  considerable  portion,  and 
"that  by  far  the  most  important  portion,  of  the  contemplated  improve  - 
"  ment,  lying  within  the  Metropolitan  District,  may  be  expected  to  be 
• '  carried  into  execution  at  no  great  distance  of  time,  from  the  conviction 
"  which  to  some  extent  at  present  exists,  and  which  is  daily  increasing,  that 
"  a  regular  line  of  Embankment  would  not  only  materially  improve  the 
"  River  as  a  navigable  stream,  but  would  augment  the  advantages,  etc., 
"  which  private  proprietors  would  enjoy.  By  this  means  also,  ornamental 
"  embankments  in  connection  with  public  buildings  and  private  properties 
"  may  be  advantageously  effected." 

[Report  then  proceeds  to  refer  to  the  maps  and  plans  of  the  proposed 


APPENDIX    I. 


195 


Embankment,  which  accompanied  it]  and  it  recommends  that  they  should 
proceed — "to  remove  the  nuisances  complained  of,  as  offensive  to  the  sight 
"and  injurious  to  health,  and  to  put  the  river  in  the  best  condition  to  afford 
"every  practicable  facility  for  its  free  navigation — whether  for  the  purposes 
' '  of  commerce,  recreation,  or  health. " 


Signed, 


Henry  Burn. 
David  Allan. 
James  Lake. 
James  White. 
Wm.  Kipling. 
Thos.  Mitchell. 
John  Locke. 
Thomas  Q.  Finnis. 
Benj.  Ed.  Brown. 
Wm.  Croucher. 


Richd.  Taylor. 
Chapn.  Marshall. 
Henry  Patten. 
W.  A.   Peacock. 
Richd.  Hicks. 
James  Frisby. 
Saml.   Unwin. 
Thos.  Watkins. 
Jas.  Baldwin. 
Geo.  Wright. 


APPENDIX  II. 


APPENDIX  TO   LETTER   OF   SIR   R.  MAYNE,    1863. 


1. — Area. 
With  respect  thereto  : — 

The  City  Police  has  charge  over  725  acres, 
The  Metropolitan  Police  over  439,744  acres. 
The  district  of  the  first-named  Force  is  of  course  entirely  urban  ;  that 
of  the  second  is  urban,  suburban  and  rural.  The  urban  and  suburban 
portions  contain  77,272  acres,  and  the  rural,  which  is  contained  within  a 
belt  of  varying  breadth  circumscribing  the  whole  Metropolis,  has  an  area 
of  362,472  acres.  This  rural  district  is  much  larger  than  the  entire 
county  of  Bedford. 

The  proportionate  areas,  taking  that  of  the  City  Police  as  unity,  is — 

For  the  City  Police, 1 

,,    the  Metropolitan  Police 606 

2. — Population. 
The  City  Police  has  to  protect...     112,063  persons, 

The  Metropolitan  Police  3,110,654        ,, 

The  population  protected  by  the  latter   Force  consists  of  2,691,926 
persons  in  the  urban  and  suburban  districts,  and  418,728  in  the  rural. 

The  population  of  the  rural  district  is  greater  than  that  of  the  whole 
of  Lincolnshire. 

The  proportionate  population  under  the  City  Police    1 

,,  ,,  ,,  •    Metropolitan  Police    28 

3. — Houses,  Inhabited  and  Uninhabited. 

The  City  Police  has  to  watch I4>794  houses, 

The  Metropolitan 461,845       ,, 

The  proportionate  number  of  houses  under  the  City  Police 1 

,,  ,,  ,,  Metropolitan  Police  31 


APPENDIX    II.  197 

3. — Amount  of  the  Forces. 

The  City  Police  contains 608  men, 

The  Metropolitan 6,116     ,, 

I  Ience  the  ratio  of  Force  to  area  is — 

In  the  City  Police I  man  to  i-fc  acres, 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  ...      1     ,,       72          ,, 

The  latter  area  per  man  is  sixty  times  greater  than  the  former. 

The  ratio  of  Force  to  population  is — 

In  the  City  Police I  man  to  184  person-, 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  ...     1      ,,       508        ,, 

A  Metropolitan  Policeman  has  nearly  three  times  as  many  persons  to 
look  after  as  a  City  Officer. 

The  ratio  of  Force  to  houses  is — 

In  the  City  Police 1  man  to  24  houses, 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  ...     1      ,,        77       ,, 

A  Metropolitan  Policeman  has  more  than  thrice  the  number  of  houses 
to  guard,  compared  with  the  same  duty  of  a  City  Policeman. 

4. — The  Cost  of  the  Forces. 

The  yearly  expense  of  the  C  ity  Police  is £,$>>  1 7 2 

,,  ,,  Metropolitan  Police  ...       400,389 

Having  effected  in  respect  of  the  two  items  parity  of  charge  by  striking 
off  from  the  latter  several  sums  for  special  objects,  not  carried  to  the  Police 
Account  in  the  City  Statement. 

The  annual  cost  of  each  Policeman  in  the  City  Police  is  ...    .£79     4     7 
,,  ,,  ,,  Metropolitan  Police  65     9     3 

Therefore  the  cost  of  each  man  in  the  City  Police  is  £\-$  15s.  4d.,  or 
2 1  per  cent,  higher  than  for  the  Metropolitan  Officer. 

The  annual  cost  regarded  as  a  poll-tax  upon  the  inhabitants  of  each 
district  is — 

In  reference  to  the  City  Police £0    8    4  per  head, 

„  ,,  Metropolitan  Police       o    2  10       ,, 

As  a  tax,  measured  by  the  standard  of  population,  it  is  194  per  cent. 
higher  in  the  City  than  in  the  Metropolitan  District. 

5. — Crimes,  Apprehensions  and  Committals. 

The  number  of  crimes  committed  in  one  year  is — 

In  the  City  Police  District   1,029 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District    11,203 

The  proportion  of  crimes  to  population  is — 

In  the  City  Police  District 1  crime  to  108  persons, 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District      1     ,,  277       „ 

In  this  relation  crimes  in  the  City  are  upwards  of  156  per  cent,  higher 
than  in  the  Metropolitan  District. 


I9o  APPENDIX    II. 

The  proportion  of  crimes  to  inhabited  houses  is — 

In  the  City  Police  District I  crime  to  12  houses, 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District  ...   1      ,,  37     ,, 

In  this  relation  crimes  in  the  City  are  upwards  of  208  per  cent,  higher 
than  in  the  Metropolitan  District. 

The  ratio  of  apprehensions  to  number  of  crimes  committed  is — 

In  the  City  Police  District 10  apprehensions  to  15  crimes, 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District    10  ,,  28     ,, 

But  since,  as  it  will  be  observed  presently,  half  the  number  of  persons 
apprehended  by  the  City  Police  were  discharged  by  the  Magistrates,  it  is 
necessary  to  compare  the  number  of  efficient  apprehensions,  i.e.,  appre- 
hensions which  have  resulted  in  bringing  the  offenders  to  trial,  with  the 
amount  of  crime  in  each  district.     This  ratio  was— 

In  the  City  Police  District 10  efficient  apprehensions  to  32  crimes, 

In  the  Metropolitan  Police  District    10       ,,  ,,  37      ,, 

The  proportion  of  prisoners  discharged  by  Magistrates  in  respect  of 
those  apprehended  by — 

The  City  Police  is     1  in  2 

The  Metropolitan  Police  is I  in  4 

If  the  whole  value  of  a  Police  were  to  be  measured  by  the  number  of 
Magisterial  committals  in  comparison  with  Police  apprehensions,  it  would 
appear  plain  from  these  figures  that  the  waste  of  force  by  the  City  Police 
is  double  that  which  is  experienced  by  the  Metropolitan  body. 

The  Metropolitan  Police  are  concerned  with  a  much  graver  class  of 
crimes,  or  they  get  up  their  evidence  more  completely  (?).  Of  suspected 
and  accused  persons  apprehended  by — 

The  City  Police less  than  one-half  axe  committed  for  trial, 

The  Metropolitan  Police.,    fully  three-fourths  ,,  ,, 

The  precise  number  of  Criminals  who  were  committed  for  trial  in  the 
year  was — 

In  the  City  Police  District  321 

,,      Metropolitan  District    2,997 

Computing  the  ratio  of  these  figures  to  the  respective  population  of 
each  District,  it  is  found  that  the  graver  crimes  (?) — 

In  the  City  Police  District  are  as 3 

,,      Metropolitan  Police  District  are  as  1 


APPENDIX    II.  199 


TABLE  A  (To  Sir  R.  Mayne's  Letter). 

The   following  Items  of  Expense  should  be  excluded  in  estimating  the 
cost  per  Man  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Force,  viz.  : 

£         s.     ,L 
Medical  attendance  and  medicines,  etc. ,  for  des- 
titute prisoners    1,09917     o 

Horses,  forage,  saddlery,  etc.,  and  vans 8,491   15     6 

Erection  and  purchase  of  premises  T5,I79     2     2 

Refreshments   for   destitute   prisoners  and   other 

small  contingencies    i>323  I9   10 

Extraordinary   expenses  incurred  in  the  pursuit, 

apprehension  and  conveyance  of  prisoners  .. .       3,415     5     o 

Expenses  and  allowances  on  special  occasions  and 
on  duties  out  of  the  district,  ,£1,930  7s.  lid., 
of  which  £1,124  8s.  2d.  was  repaid  to  the 
Police  Fund  by  the  parties  employing  the 
Police   805   19     9 

Retired  allowances  to  Bow  Street  Patrol,  etc. ,  are 

paid  by  the  Treasury 

Retired  allowances  to  Officers  of  Commissioners' 
and  Receivers'  Departments,  also  paid  by 
the  Treasury  

Police  expenditure  on  account  of  Her  Majesty's  

Yards  

Ditto  Military  Stations  * 

Ditto  Dangerous  Structures  Act  

Deficiency  of  Police  Superannuation  Fund 42,242     2  10 

/72,558     2     1 

(Signed)        T.  H.  GOLDEN. 

Metropolitan  Police  Office, 
April  25,  1863 


200  APPENDIX    II. 

TABLE  B  (To  Sir  R.  Mayne's  Letter). 

Metropolitan  Police. 

A  Statement  of  the  cost  of  the  Metropolitan  Police  Force,  including  all 
those  items  of  Expenditure  which  have  a  direct  bearing  and  reference 
to  the  charge  proper  for  Police  purposes  for  the  year  1861. 
Office  Expenses,  including  Salaries  of  Com- 
missioners' and  Receivers'  Departments, 
Rent,    Taxes,    Fuel    and    Light,    Books, 
Printing   and    Stationery,    Postage,    Tra- 
velling Expenses,  Newspapers  and  Adver-  £        s.  d. 
tisements,  and  small  Office  contingencies..        12,522     8  n 

Law  Charges  590     9     5 

Superintendents*  salaries  4,344  19     3 

*Pay,  clothing,  and  equipment  of  the  Force     357,156     4     I 

Medical  salaries  and  funeral  expenses 2, 1 88     6     8 

Repair  of  premises,  rent  of  premises,  rates 
and  taxes,  furniture  and  fixtures,  cleaning 
stations,  turners'  wares,  and  other  small 

charges  incidental  to  premises 10, 162     9  10 

(N.B. — The  amount  charged  for  rent 
is  the  actual  sum  paid  after  de- 
ducting ,£5,908  us.  id.,  the  re- 
ceipts from  the  police  for  lodging 
money. ) 

Fuel  and  light     13,215     5     2 

Boats  and  station  ships 279     5  11 

£400,380     2     3 

Average  cost  per  man    .£6595.   3d- 

Strength    of  Force    (exclusive   of    Dockyards   and   Military 
Stations)  on  the  31st  December,  6,116. 

*  This  is  the  amount  of  the  gross  pay,  from  which  deductions  are 
afterwards  made  for  contributions  to  Superannuation  Fund,  Fines, 
Stoppages  when  Sick,  etc. 

Metropolitan  Police  Office, 
April  25,  1863. 


APPENDIX    II.  20  r 

TABLE  C  (To  Sir  R.  Mayne's  Letter). 

City  Police. 

A  Statem  ent  of  the  actual  cost  of  the  City  Police,  in  which  is  included 
only  those  items  of  Expenditure  set  forth  in  the  Police  Account  of  the 
City  Chamberlain,  for  the  year  1861. 

Salaries    of   Commissioner,   Superintendent,         £        s.  d. 

Surgeon  and  other  officers  3, 1 55     o    o 

Salaries    of   Inspectors    and 

Constables ^"37.215  15     9 

Transfer  to  Superannuation 
Fund  of  deductions  from 
pay  of  men,  fines,  and 
stoppages  when  sick    1 , 1 42     1     6 

38,357  17     3 

Clothing,  hats,  caps,  stocks  and  accoutre- 
ments  (boots    included  in   pay   as  above 

shewn)    2,686     2    o 

Lanterns    387  10    o 

Expenses  of  Chief  Office  (exclusive  of 
salaries  which  are  shewn  above),  and  seve- 
ral stations,  including  rent,  taxes,  repairs, 

furniture  and  bedding 3,26713     3 

Extra  pay  to  police 52    o    o 

Funeral  expenses    760 

Printing  and  stationery  224     6    o 

Law  charges    34    6    8 

^48,172    2    o 

The  average  cost  per  man  is  £79  4s.  7d.     Excess  of  City 
over  Metropolitan,  per  man,  ^13  15s.  4d. 

Strength  of  Force  on  the  31st  December,  1861,  608. 

Metropolitan  Police  Office^ 
April 25,  1863. 


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OPINIONS  OF  THE   PRESS 

ON    TIIF. 

FIRST    AND    SECOND    EDITIONS. 


"  This  volume  is  devoted  to  a  spirited  exposure  of  the  fallacies  concerning 
the  City  of  London,  into  which  public  writers  have  been  betrayed  by  an  inexact 
mode  of  handling  those  figures  of  the  general  Census  which  relate  to  its  area. 
Mr.  Scott  is  very  severe  upon  the  statisticians,  who,  however,  should  be  much 
obliged  to  him  for  showing  them  so  convincingly  how  much  their  methods  of 
deduction  require  to  be  guided  by  experience.  His  work,  besides  being  a 
recital  of  particular  errors,  is  an  elaborate  vindication  of  the  principles  of  self- 
government,  and  is  enriched  with  facts  of  real  value  to  those  who  wish  to  form 
a  sound  judgment  on  the  questions  which  arise  out  of  the  administration  of  the 
interests  of  the  great  central  community  of  the  capital." — Daily  News. 

"  Mr.  Scott,  in  a  very  able  book  which  he  has  just  published  upon  this 
subject,  shows  that  calculations  based  on  the  returns  of  the  Registrar  General 
and  the  yearly  'Judicial  Statistics,'  are  very  far  from  trustworthy  ;  we  cannot 
see  by  what  legitimate  process  of  reasoning  the  corrections  applied  by  Mr.  Scott 
can  be  refused.  Other  corrections  besides  those  just  mentioned  are  found 
necessary,  and  some  very  curious  inconsistencies  are  revealed.  The  battle 
rages  over  the  whole  field  of  figures,  and  a  striking  illustration  is  afforded  of 
the  necessity  for  caution  in  accepting  statistical  arguments.  True  statistics  are 
of  undoubted  value  ;  but  strange,  indeed,  are  the  consequences  of  setting 
out  on  a  calculation  with  wrong  data." — Standard. 

"The  Chamberlain  of  the  City  of  London  is  a  statistician  and  something 
more.  There  is  a  fine  energetic  vigour  in  his  style  which  we  greatly  admire. 
The  way  in  which  he  deals  with  an  adversary  reminds  one  rather  of  a  swift 
bowler  at  cricket,  with  an  unerring  eye  for  the  middle  stump.  It  must  be  con- 
fessed that  Mr.  Scott  has  proved  his  case  completely  on  all  points." — Globe. 

"  Mr.  Scott's  '  Statistical  Vindication  of  the  City  of  London  '  is  a  book  upon 
which  great  industry  and  research,  and  no  small  amount  of  literary  skill  have 
been  expended,  with  the  best  results.  For  insidious  ends  both  the  character 
and  position  of  the  ancient  City,  and  the  management  of  its  corporate  affairs, 
have  been  traduced  in  official  documents  and  in  public  journals.  Mr.  Scott's 
evidence  to  the  contrary  is  unanswerable  ;  and  the  gravity  of  his  admirably 
collated  figures  is  relieved  by  the  playful,  and  often  caustic  vein  of  satire  in 
which  he  exposes  mis-statements.  The  volume  will  well  repay  perusal ;  for 
though  the  subject  is  not  of  the  liveliest  kind,  Mr.  Scott  is  so  much  its  master 

14 


OPINIONS   OF   THE   PRESS. 

that  the  main  points  of  the  argument  are  brought  before  us  rapidly  and 
brilliantly  ;  opponents  are  tripped  up  with  remarkable  dialectic  skill,  and  their 
blunders  are  exposed  with  much  good-humoured  sarcasm.  So  far  as  it  goes  it 
is,  we  must  admit,  a  complete  and  crushing  reply  to  the  narrow  objections  of 
the  advocates  of  centralization. " — Morning  Star. 

"  The  Chamberlain  of  London  may  almost  lay  claim  to  one  of  the  old 
Homeric  appellations,  for  in  one  sense  he  is  one  of  '  the  most  overwhelming  of 
mankind.'  We  know  of  no  other  instance  in  which  an  elaborate  statementw 
made  by  a  veteran  officer  in  the  public  service,  has  been  so  thoroughly  demo- 
lished, torn  to  pieces,  and  scattered  to  the  winds." — Morning  Advertiser. 

"Mr.  Scott  demonstrates  that  in  respect  to  religious  and  educational  ad- 
vantages the  City  of  London  surpasses  any  other  district  of  similar  area,  and 
he  is  able,  without  very  much  difficulty,  completely  to  annihilate  the  position, 
'  that  in  proportion  to  population  the  ratio  of  crime  in  the  City  is  in  excess  of 
other  Metropolitan  districts."  It  is  proved  beyond  a  question  that  statements 
on  this  head  are  based  in  error.  Mr.  Scott,  having  disposed  of  the  statistics 
upon  which  opposition  and  hostility  to  the  City  have  been  founded,  proceeds  to 
deal  with  the  general  question  of  municipal  government." — Athenceum. 

' '  Mr.  Scott  has  rendered  real  service  in  exposing  the  fallacious  character  in 
many  respects  of  the  population  returns." — Spectator. 

"  Mr.  Scott  sets  forth  materials  for  a  very  clear  understanding  of  the  relative 
wealth  and  importance  of  the  old  City  of  London.  Mr.  Scott  shows  that  though 
the  number  of  houses  is  slowly  decreasing  in  London,  the  house-value  is 
quickly  rising.  Twenty  trumpery  dwelling-houses,  perhaps,  are  pulled  down, 
to  make  room  for  one  great  warehouse  or  block  of  offices,  in  which  several 
hundred  busy  merchants  and  their  clerks  are  gathered  every  day,  to  conduct 
enterprises  by  which  thousands  of  persons  will  be  benefited.  More  Customs' 
Duties  are  paid  in  London  than  in  all  the  other  ports  of  the  Kingdom  put 
together,  and  the  tonnage  of  its  Shipping  far  exceeds  that  of  any  other  single 
port,  not  excluding  Liverpool.  In  a  word,  London  is  no  longer  a  place  of 
residence,  but  instead,  it  is  growing  mighty  as  a  City  of  counting-houses  and 
banks,  warehouses  and  shops." — Examiner. 

"Mr.  Scott  has  furnished  a  very  complete  reply  to  the  erroneous  con- 
clusions that  have  been  drawn  from  the  results  of  the  last  Census,  with  regard 
to  the  position  and  prospects  of  the  City.  The  subject  he  has  taken  in  hand 
would  not  at  the  outset  appear  to  be  a  particularly  attractive  one,  but  Mr.  Scott 
has  treated  it  in  such  a  manner  that  so  far  from  being  of  that  dry  and  unin- 
teresting character  which  marks  most  works  of  its  class,  the  volume  he  has  put 
before  us  is  not  only  readable  but  occasionally  positively  amusing,  so  that  any 
one  who  may  be  inclined  to  set  about  making  himself  master  of  the  facts  and 
figures  herein  set  forth,  may  enter  upon  the  task  without  the  slightest  fear  of 
finding  himself  bored  or  bewildered. — We  cannot  take  leave  of  Mr.  Scott 
without  complimenting  him  very  heartily  on  the  excellent  manner  in  which  he 
has  performed  his  self-imposed  task.  His  arguments  are  clear  and  convincing, 
placing  those  whose  fallacies  he  attacks  in  a  most  unenviable  position.    Coming 


OPINIONS    OF    THE    PR  I 

into  the  lists  as  champion  of  the  City's  fame  and  the  City's  rights,  he  has  made 
himself  master  of  the  field,  and  certainly  deserves  the  thanks  of  all  who  have 
the  honour  and  the  well-being  of  our  ancient  corporation  at  heart." — City  Press. 

"  The  object  of  this  work  is  to  refute  what  the  writer  considers  to  be  the 
fallacious  reasonings  founded  upon  the  figures  of  the  Imperial  census,  and  to 
set  forth  in  its  true  light  the  relative  importance  of  the  City  as  compared  with 
the  rest  of  the  Metropolis.  In  carrying  out  this  object  a  mass  of  most  interesting 
statistics  is  presented,  with  commentaries  thereon,  in  order  to  negative  the 
allegations  which  have  been  somewhat  authoritatively  made  that  in  the  City  the 
population  is  '  year  by  year '  decreasing  ;  that  the  houses  rapidly  diminish  in 
number ;  that  inhabited  houses  greatly  decrease  ;  that,  consequently,  trade 
must  be  declining,  and  the  City  decaying.  So  far  from  the  above  being  the 
case,  the  proofs  herein  given  demonstrate  that  trade  and  commerce  in  the  City 
now  flourish  beyond  all  former  precedent,  that  street  traffic,  rents  and  rateable 
value  all  increase  with  unparalleled  rapidity.  Amongst  the  arguments  used  by 
those  who  would  disparage  the  City  as  compared  with  the  other  Metropolitan 
districts,  reference  is  constantly  made  to  the  amount  of  the  City  population  as 
shown  by  the  Imperial  Census,  in  which  notice  is  taken  of  those  only  who  sleep 
in  the  City,  instead  of  referring  to  those  whose  daily  avocations  are  pursued 
therein.  The  information  given  in  this  volume,  founded  as  it  is  upon  most 
authentic  data,  is  well  worthy  of  the  consideration  of  all  who  would  truly 
estimate  the  importance  of  the  City  as  compared  with  the  remainder  of  the 
Metropolis."—  Observer. 

"  Mr.  Scott,  in  his  admirable  work,  points  out  that  whilst  this  scheme  (Mr. 
Mill's  Bill  of  1866)  is  satisfactory  as  far  as  it  goes,  it  does  not  touch  the  real 
difficulty— viz.,  how  shall  efficient  united  action  be  secured.  Indeed,  in  the  first 
draft  of  the  measure  it  was  proposed  to  retain  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works 
with  those  anomalies  of  constitution  which  have  been  repeatedly  pointed  out  to 
our  readers.  Mr.  Scott  puts  the  case  eloquently  and  powerfully  : — The  more 
carefully  this  question  is  considered,  the  clearer  becomes  the  conviction  that  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  can,  by  no  conceivable  modification  of  its  organi- 
zation, fulfil  all  the  requirements  of  the  case.'' — Sunday  Times. 

"  Mr.  Scott  has  taken  up  his  pen,  which  in  his  hands  is  a  very  formidable 
weapon  indeed,  in  defence  of  the  Corporation,  and  a  very  good  case  he  makes 
out.  The  Chamberlain,  like  a  true  and  good  knight,  not  only  challenges  all 
comers,  but  proceeds  at  once  to  show  his  genius  for  batde,  by  assailing  every 
antagonist  of  the  City." — News  of  the  World. 

"Mr.  Scott's  *  Statistical  Vindication '  is  humorous  as  well  as  logical  and 
accurate,  which  is  rather  refreshing  in  these  days." — Echoes  from  the  Clubs. 

"  The  City  has  no  more  redoutable  champion  than  its  own  Chamberlain. 
He  has  at  his  command  a  great  army  of  figures,  and  he  handles  them  like  a 
skilful  general.  It  is  true,  as  he  says,  that  figures  may  be  perverted  to  prove 
anything,  but  his  figures  are  so  exhaustive  of  the  subject,  that  fallacy  seems 
impossible.  Mr.  Scott  attacks  the  representation  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of 
Works,  complains  of  there  being  only  forty-five  members,  and  shows  that  the 
fiscal  power  of  one  member  is  greater  than  that  of  either  of  forty-seven  pro- 


OPINIONS    OF   THE   PRESS. 

vincial  Corporations  which  he  enumerates.  The  seventh  ajid  last  chapter  of  this 
monument  of  industry  and  skill  discusses  the  policy  of  establishing  Metropoli- 
tan Municipalities." — Parochial  Critic. 

"Of  the  intrinsic  importance  and  of  the  enormous  wealth  which  the  City 
represents  no  reasonable  person  can  have  a  doubt ;  and  Mr.  Scott  has  abun- 
dantly established  its  right  to  pre-eminence  in  any  arrangement  which  may  be 
made  hereafter  for  the  better  and  uniform  government  of  the  whole  Metropolitan 
district.  The  Corporation,  reinvigorated  and  enlarged,  will  rightfully  become 
the  central  governing  body  of  the  entire  metropolis." — English  Independent. 

"  Certainly  the  most  readable  book  of  the  statistical  family  we  have  met 
with.  Statistics,  when  correct,  are  of  the  highest  value,  and  furnish  a  solid 
foundation  for  argument.  Too  often,  however,  they  are  either  imperfectly 
collected  or  wrongly  interpreted.  Mr.  Scott's  book  shows  clearly  that  the  most 
erroneous  conclusions  may  be  drawn  from  what,  at  first  view,  appears  to  be 
statistical  truth." —  Weekly  Record. 

"  Surely  no  corporation  in  the  country  is  so  deserving  of  respect  and  pre- 
servation as  the  venerable  Corporation  of  the  City  of  London.  We  might  have 
supposed  that  its  munificence,  its  well-proved  love  of  freedom,  its  boundless 
charity,  and  its  loyalty  and  love  for  the  crown,  would  have  preserved  this 
ancient  and  valuable  institution,  as  we  deem  it  to  be,  from  unfair  external 
attack.  In  this  book  Mr.  Scott  has  dispelled  a  thousand  fallacies  in  relation  to 
its  decadence.  The  City  was  never  so  great,  and  the  Corporation  never  more 
worthy  of  respect  and  preservation.  This  book  will  possess  a  permanent  value, 
for  it  sheds  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  present  condition  of  the  metropolis,  and 
will  afford  valuable  materials  to  the  future  historian  of  the  great  country  of 
which  the  City  is  the  vital  and  throbbing  centre.  The  volume  is  the  product  of 
extraordinary  research  and  care,  and  we  know  of  no  one  who  could  have  pro- 
duced it  save  the  Chamberlain  of  London." — The  Independent. 

"  Every  science  has  had  its  empirics — men  who,  wanting  an  intelligent  appre- 
hension of  the  matter,  have  brought  into  disrepute  whatever  they  have  touched 
to  the  intense  gratification  of  the  sceptical  few.  And  the  science  of  statistics 
has  had  no  small  degree  of  odium  thrown  upon  it  by  the  ignorant  application, 
or  wilful  misapplication  of  figures  by  those  who  have  by  this  means  sought  to 
establish  some  foregone  conclusion.  The  work  before  us  is  intended  to  show 
up  this  abuse  of  statistics,  which  seems  to  have  been  pretty  freely  indulged  in  as 
regards  the  City  of  London.  Time  and  often  'authorities' — Government 
Commissioners,  Home  Secretaries,  Registrars-General,  Select  Committees, 
Commissioners  of  Police,  &c. — have  come  to  the  most  opposite  results  in  refer- 
ence to  the  City  as  compared  with  the  metropolis  and  with  provincial  cities  and 
towns,  and  each  and  all  have  backed  up  their  conclusions  by  figures  derived 
from  official  sources.  It  is  these  that  Mr,  Scott,  in  the  pages  before  us,  sets 
himself  to  dispel.  The  individuals  who  have  discovered  from  the  last  census 
the  decadence  of  the  City  could  not  have  seen  where  the  bare  figures  would 
lead  them  to  if  they  proceeded  in  their  illusory  investigations.  It  is  curious  to 
note,  however,  where  they  would  have  landed  if  they  had  extended  their 
enquiries  ;  Mr.  Scott  furnishes  the  clue." — Insurance  Record. 


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